Many New Faces
by Undaed15
Summary: Sequel to my story, Eight New Faces. The Vytal Festival is upon teams RWBY, JNPR, ROSA, and EMBR and things are starting to heat up, new friends are made, friends are lost, enemies are made and lost as well. However, with new events coming up that threaten Vale, our heroes are going to need all the help they can get to combat this new evil...
1. The Blackest of heroes

Rick was up early, even for him. It was the weekend, a few days had passed since the breach but things had returned to normal fairly quickly. Rick, however, was at the docks, sitting down and drinking a soda. A voice called to him, the psychopath turned with a smile. It was Micca and Ruby, who was still a little tired from the breach.

"Hey guys! What's going on?" Rick said, smiling goofily.

"We've been looking for you, your team said you'd be here." Ruby said as the pair sat down next to him.

"Why you looking?" Rick asked, slightly concerned.

"Well, last time you were here…your bitch of a sister kind of told you off." Micca said, grabbing Rick's hand subtly.

"Oh…good point," Rick said with a sigh, "On the bright side, this has nothing to do with that. I'm here to greet an old friend."

Before the pair could ask any more questions, a ship landed, it's passangers disembarking.

"Ricky!" A scottish accented, female voice yelled as the owner raced over and grabbed the psychopath in a bear hug. It was a woman, about as tall as Rick. She wore brown leather over chainmail, and had a claymore on her back. Ruby heard Micca suck in a breath as she saw how close the woman was holding him.

"Rick, hope you're not trying to steal my girl." Another voice sounded out, this one deeper and more threatening. The group turned to see a man about the same height as Rick walking towards them, he wore bronze armor, had a sword on his hip, a spear in his hand, and his helmet bore a black plume.

"Leonidus Khrusos, a pleasure as always." Rick laughed, getting a laugh from the Spartan in return.

"Your damn right it is," Leonidus said as the woman let Rick go, clasping their hands in a firm hand shake, "It's been a while, how's the team doing?"

"They're fine, it's just been a crazy last few days." Rick said with a grin.

"Your right about that, wish we could have been here." A new voice came in, two more people walked out of the ship. A woman who was shorter than Willow and a man with glasses whom bared a mustache almost as glorious as Richards.

"Where Bull Moose?" Rick asked, earning a strange look from Ruby and Micca.

"It's being taken to the garage, nothing too serious…unless they scratch it, then Teddy's going to be enraged." The woman laughed out, earning a laugh from the rest of the teens except for Ruby and Micca.

"Oh, sorry you two, I forgot intruductions are in order," Rick said as he started pointing. "This is team LWTJ (Liberty), Leonidus Khrusos, Willow Wallace, Teddy Brown, and Josephine Rosso."

"A pleasure." Teddy said in a formal tone of voice.

"Team LWTJ, this is Micca Sol and Ruby Rose…" Rick said, only to be cut off when Willow suddenly ran up to Micca and clasped her in a bear hug.

"So you're the girl Rick can't shut about!" She yelled, setting down the shaken girl.

"Willow…" Josephine said in a warning tone.

"Calm down, Jose, they're in a relationship now, it's OK," Willow said with a grin as she looked over to Ruby, "And this is the legendary Ruby Rose, fifteen years of age and already at Beacon, nice."

"Wait, I do know you!" Ruby giggled out, "You fought in the last Vytal Festival, you got to the finals!"

"That we did, then those EMAD bastards got us, good fight though." Leo said with a grin.

"Well, now that introductions are out of the way, how are things at Fate?" Rick asked, he was always looking for info on his former friends.

"Nothings really changed, outside of the Grimm in the Black Forest getting a tad bit more aggressive, but that's to be expected with the White Fang attacks." Willow said, though Micca picked up on the shame in her voice.

"Huh, sounds good, hey, breakfast is open, let's grab a bite to eat real quick." Rick said, leading the group towards the mess hall.

 **At the Atlas Flagship…**

Roman Torchwick was lead down the corridor to the mess hall, he was sat down onto a bench with a simple order. Don't talk to anyone, if there was anyone to talk too. Most of the crew was off guarding Beacon, but a few remained on the ship. Roman usually would have just stared at his plate, but then someone sat next to them.

"So…I hear that a bastard got his wings clipped," The ragged voice said, Romen turned around to regard the man. He looked a bit older than Roman, unshaven black hair covered his features, but he wore a prison jumpsuit that was marked with strange symbles, "How'd they catch you? Too busy getting high in a bathroom?"

"Well sir, I'm not a liberty to comment on that, so do me a favor, shut up." Roman said, not in the mood to talk.

"So that big bad criminal who had the world quaking in their boots turns out to be a whiney little girl, good to know." The man said as he took a bite of his eggs.

"Pray tell, why do you care?' Torchwick as the man swallowed, "We're both locked up here, why don't we try to get along?"

"Huh, you know, if I remember right, your cell is pretty bare. At least I've got a TV, I can watch the festival." The man said, ignoring Torchwicks statement, the gangster grew more irritated.

"And who are you to brag? You know who I am, I'm big news around here. Pay a little respect, and I might be generous when I get out." Torchwick said with a big, shit eating grin.

"Oh…I know who you are, and I know what you can do…but…let me tell you something, to me…you're worthless, a piece of the criminal system who Ironwood was too much of an idiot to break." The man replied, earning a look of rage from the orange haired man.

"Tell, what's your name so I can carve it into your chest after I get out?" Torchwick said in a threatening tone.

"Ok, I'll give you the courtesy," The man said, finishing off his breakfast before turngin to face the big bad criminal, "The names…Jesse Stampede."

"Hey, no talking!" The guards yelled, finally noticing the two conversing criminals.

"Don't worry officer, we just got done…" Jessie said, picking up his tray and heading back to his cell. Torchwick, on the other hand, had paled at the name. He knew that name, it filled him with dread. Jesse Stampede, the Hunter of Hunters, this…was a significant development.

Jesse Stampede was one of the most dangerous people in the world, if not because of his high body count, most of which were full blown hunters, than his infiltration of Beacon, Atlas, the White Fang, and even this ship…multiple times. He had dissappered a while back, guess he had finally gotten caught…but his calm nature plus his suit…he was working with Atlas.

 **At the Beacon Mess hall…**

"So…my rival mustache has come again?" Richard asked as Teddy sat down in front of him.

"That I have," Teddy replied, the two locking into a intense staring contest, "How's the twinblade?"

"Better than your rifle," The monk said with a smirk, before bursting out laughing, "It's good to see you again, Ted."

"Likewise." Teddy said before biting into a piece of ham.

"Getting the gang back together?" Ben said as he sat down, the rest of the group following.

"Yep, our friends from Fate followed us out here." Rick said with a laugh.

"Sounds good to me, been too long since I've gotten a decent challenge." Richard said, getting a few laughs form the gang.

"Well, pardon me if I think I can handle you." A soft British voice said, Richard turned to regard Velvet.

"Whose this? Someone you didn't tell us about?" Josephene said with a laugh.

"This is Velvet, my girlfriend." Richard said as the bunny fanaus sat on his lap.

"Well, that's surprising, Ricks got a girl, Richards got a girl…what's next? Ben?" Leo joked, getting another roaring laugh from the table. Micca noticed something, however, Willow hadn't talked at all, she had just been staring at the snake fanuas the whole time.

"Hey, Willow, why don't you go make sure our stuff all arrived?" Leo asked in a knowing tone.

"I'll help you." Micca said, getting up. Willow smiled as she got to her feet and started walking out, Micca following. They walked a fair distance before Willow stopped.

"I'm assuming you know that out luggage is all safe and sucure?" Willow asked, to with Micca nodded.

"Yeah, I guessed, you wanted to talk to me?" Micca asked, ready for something.

"I wanted to ask you…has Rick…ever mentioned why he became a hunter?" Willow asked suddenly, getting a strange look from the snake fanus.

"No…why?" Mica asked, very concerned for her love.

"I need to tell you then," Willow said in a sad tone, "The reason…was because of me."

"Wait, What?" Micca asked, a flood of emotions coming to her brain, mainly jealously.

"I…I was part of the White Fang," Willow said, stopping Micca dead in her tracks, "Well, I was going to be. I was born in Vacuo, but move to Ricks hometown of Tradition when I was young. I was a teen at the time, just starting in weapon academys, but I was filled with hate. That's why we moved actually, Tradition was a medium sized town, but the people where kind."

"Eventually, I found a White Fang recruiter, me and three others where going to finish up our training, and join the Fang," Willow said, taking a deep breath, "Then, on our senior year…a stupid freshman walked right into my life with his friends."

"Sound like how I met him." Micca giggled, only to stop when Willow took a deep breath.

"He showed me things, he showed me to look past my hatred, to regard the humans as people…he changed my mind," Willow said as she stared into the clouds, "Me and my friends decided to not join the White Fang, the recruiter…"

"The White Fang doesn't appreciate traitors…" Micca finsished, earning a sad smile from Willow.

"No they do not," Willow said as she took a deep breath, "He tracked us down, killing us off one by one, until I was left. As fate would have it, before he could pull the trigger…Rick happened to be stopping by, dropping off some movie. If it wasn't for him…"

Willow's eyes were tearing up at that point, Micca put her arms around the girl.

"Tell me, do you know the Butcher of men?" Willow asked, only getting a confused look from Micca.

"No…though…I've heard of that." Micca replied, getting a sad smile from Willow.

"One day, you'll meet him, I know that for sure, but," Willow said in a happy tone of voice, "After that day, Rick changed, he threw himself into weapons training, forging his ax, and readying himself. He had made his decision, he was to become a hunter."

"Why? Why tell this too me?" Micca asked, her fear showing.

"Because you need to know, Rick wouldn't tell you because he wants to protect you. He really does care for you, but this part of his life…it changed him. You'll discover what I mean I the future." Willow said as she started off again, heading towards the next area with Micca watching silently.

The snake fanuas's mouth was agape, but she felt a comforting hand on her shoulder. She turned to regard a strange man, he wore a black trench coat over black boots and trousers, on his left hand, he bore a bronze gauntlet and his right leg was bound with a leather strap, he wore a large brimmed hat and had a leather mask covering everything below his eyes.

Micca's eyes widened as she took him in, she blinked, and just like that…he was gone…

Micca looked around, before shrugging, with all of this stress, she probably just needed sleep.

 **At the Mess Hall…**

"Hey Rick, something I've been meaning to ask you," Ruby said, scooting over to his side, "Why does your ax smell funny?"

"Well, I'm glad you asked," Rick said with a laugh, "It's a long story, after I decided to become a hunter, I needed a weapon. Now, because I'm a purist, I decided to forge my own. I stepped into a forge and got to work…I kind of sucked at it."

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked, leaning in.

"I couldn't do it, I didn't know how to forge the metal properly to be able to take a hit. So, after my fifth attempt failed, I decided to drink some water that I brought with me," Rick said before he took a breath, "What I didn't realize was that I had picked up some moonshine, I spat it out because I didn't want to be drunk and it got into the flames…"

"Isn't moonshine flammable?" Ruby asked, getting a pat on the head.

"Yes, yes it is, the flames almost blew up…that's when it hit me," Rick said, taking a dramatic pause, "If I could keep the flames hot enough, I might get somewhere."

"That's now how it works…" Ruby said, grinning over the stupid talk.

"I didn't know that, so I started forging the weapon using Wet Forging, only replace the water with moonshine…" Rick started before Richard cut him off.

"A few hours later, Ben and I walked into the forge…only to see Rick in a leather blacksmith apron and nothing else." Richard said, getting a laugh from the entire table.

"Anyway, after that, somehow…the moonshine increased the ax heads durability to extreme levels, so much so, that I couldn't find a handle that wouldn't shatter." Rick said with a grin.

"So…how did you aquire a blackwood handle?" Ruby asked, gushing over Rick's ax.

"Well, I found a hunk of black wood lying around, it was a gift to my family from a long time ago that we didn't ever find a use for, so I made it into the shaft," Rick said as he leaned back in his chair, "Took me a while, went through about five Dust saws, ten fire dust vials, and almost lost my fingers about twenty times. But after all that…it was done, my ax…a Taste of Madness."

"What about your other weapons?" The scythe weilder asked back.

"Well, Jason's Love, the machete, was something I picked up from my garage, bradden steel, great durability. The Cowboy…well, it was a gift from my uncle. It's a good blade, good metal, but nothing above standard hunter durability." Rick said, leaning forward in his chair. He almost said more, but a bell went off.

"Hey, we've got arena fighting, care to join us LWTJ?" Richard asked, Leo smiled.

"Sure, love to see some of the competition…" The Spartan said as he and his team got up, "Lead the way…"

Ruby got up as well, only to stop as she turned…she saw a strange man with a large brimmed hat.

"Ruby, you coming?" Ben yelled as he walked away.

"Sure!" Ruby yelled back, turning to see that the mysterious man was gone.

 **At the Arena…**

"So this is were you been you lazy bastards!" Rick yelled, teams ROSA, EMBR, RWBY, JNPR, and SSSN were all sitting down.

"Well, got to check out the competition, get an edge!" Shaun yelled, as he looked at Weiss, the heiress flashed him a dirty look.

"Sounds good to me, besides, it's always fun to see new people," Yang said with a grin as the new group approached, "So…who are these guys?"

"Team LWTJ," Pyrrha piped in suddenly, gaining everyones attention, "Lead by Leonidus, good to see you again."

"Good to see you too, Pyrrha, been a while since we last met." Leo said as he approached the second Spartan.

"It's too bad you refused to fight in the single tournaments, I would have loved to face you." Pyrrha said with a smile as Leo sat down next to Jaune, who immedeatly stiffened.

"Glory to the army, not the individual, besides…I prefer leadership over single combat," Leo said as he stretched, "By the way, congratulations on not losing a fight."

"Thank you," Pyrrha said as she suddenly noticed Jaunes scared face, "Jaune, this is Leonidus, he was…"

Pyrrha started, but couldn't seem to find the right words.

"The closest thing she had to a friend, unfortunitly, I was a second year when she was starting out, and had to leave before she got famous." Leo said in a blunt manner.

"Hi…" Jaune said, putting out his hand, which Leo took. Jaune felt the pressure of the grip, but smiled as the teen in front of him laughed.

"Got a good grip, you're a great warrior, Jaune Arc." Leo said, much to the knights confusion.

"Uh…what?" Jaune stuttered, slightly confused on how the guy knew his name.

"Jaune Arc, decendent of the Arc line, your great grandfather was a great warrior." Leo said, putting the knight to rest.

"Leonidus…hey," Blake suddenly piped in, "You wouldn't happen to be related to…"

"King Leonidus? Defender of Mistral during the Great war? Died at the battle of Thermoplhe?" A scottish voice came through, the group turned to regard Willow and Micca as they walked in.

"Yes…" Blake started before Willow cut her off again.

"You would be correct, he's decended and proud of it." Willow said with a grin as she sat next to her leader. Richard and Velvet sat in front of them, holding hands.

"The next matches will be three on three as team CFVY's fourth member is absent," Goodwitches voice boomed, making Velvet shrink as the lights dimmed, "The next fight will be between team CFVY and team BLCP (Black)."

Everyone silenced at that name, team BLCP was legendary in the fields of glory. They were fourth years of Shade, already, they had won the last Vytal festival, had won multiple tournaments in other years, had one of the largest Grimm kill counts of any of the schools, and were considered some of the most promising students of the acadamies.

As they walked onto the stage, the crowd couldn't help but be impressed. Their leader was massive, about as tall as Yatsuhashi, but was even broader. His face was covered with long hair and a thick black beard. He wore chainmail, but most attention went onto his sword. It was a beast, even Yatsuhashi was impressed by it's size.

It was single edged, but it was at least a foot thick at the base. The mechaniques of the weapon were easy to see, but hard to determine what they were meant to do. The crowd, even Rick, all knew who this man was. Beowulf Gra, the warrior of the north, and he wasn't the only intimidating face.

The second on stage was of slender build, but the figure was clad in black armor. They bore a lance on their shoulder, and red shone out of the eye slit. Nothing was visible, but it didn't have to be. Sir Lancelot, the knight who had taken a vow of silence after the death of his original team leader, Artoria.

The second on stage wore a brown colored shirt that showed off her midriff, as well as brown shorts. Her hair was cut short, and her eyes shined blue in the light. Her weapon hung at her hip, a ax with a wide blade, perfect for chopping off heads. Someone in the crowd wolf whistled, but everyone knew that no one would dare call her something like a slut or a attention whore. This was Caramel Cernach, she was from the north east, and she was known for her habit of taking heads.

She walked off stage, she had volunteered to not fight for the three on three. The fourth on was a man wearing a toga with gold embrodiory, he had a sword in his one hand, but no one was fooled by the simple looking weapon. This was Perseus Kitrinos, a man of untold power, his face was sooth and his skin bronze.

The remnants of team CFVY looked at their opponents with hesitation, only for Beowulf to slam his sword into the ground. The crowd's eyes widened as he smirked, pressing a button, suddenly, the swords handle came off, reavealing a smaller sword. This one was still pretty big, but wasn't the eqiuvolent of a anime protagonist sword.

"Well, then, you have a big sword," Coco said with a grin, "You compensating for something?"

The crowd silenced, not knowing weather it was simply Coco's bravado or if she was trying to hide her fear. That's when Beowulf laughed.

"Finally, someone with some balls," The big man yelled, "I can tell I'm going to like it here."

The buzzer sounded, prompting the teens to rush forward, Beowulf and Yatsuhashi slammed their respective swords together, Lancelot and Fox started duking it out with fast strikes, and Perseus and Coco stared at each other. The militarily dressed girl yelled a battle cry as she started up her minigun, Perseus remained stone cold as it whirled up.

The bullets started flying as Persues leaped back, dodging every one of said bullets. His hands started to crackles with energy as Coco's eyes widened, she knew what came next, she dove to the right to avoid the lightning blast. She smirked, this was going to be interesting.

Lancelot and Fox's weapons traveled faster then most eyes could track, and that was a feat when you took into account that one of them was using a lance. As the paired fought, however, it became clear that Fox had the advantage as he got past the knights lance and landed a flurry of blows that sent the his opponent staggering back. The knight suddenly rushed back, landing blows against the red mencance. He felt his Aura drain, this was going to be a lot harder than he expected.

Yatsuhashi was having the same problem, Beowulf made up for what he lacked in speed with pure strength. The giant monk could feel the strikes as he blocked them, each blow felt like a jackhammer, each graze felt like a bullet. The monk had to admit, this man…was actually better than him. Yatsuhashi mistimed a attack…and missed, leaving himself open to attack. Beowulf obliged him, sending the giant to the floor.

Yatsuhashi opened his eyes to see the warrior offereing him a hand, despite the battle raging around him.

"A fallen foe of such worth deserves respect, even in the middle of carnage." Beowulf said to the questioning eyes. Unbeknowgst to them, two pairs of eyes watched the carnage, Emerald and Mercury looked at their scrolls and pulled a seemingly random lever. The fight was interrupted by a roar, all of the fighters stopping as they turned to the gates. A black shape slowly came out of the darkness, it stood on two legs, was about as tall as a Nevermore, armored plates covered it's body, and it's eyes glowed red as it regarded its new prey.

"Rancor!" Beowulf yelled, readying himself, only to see his fallen opponent try to get to his feet, "Team CFVY, get back, you're too exhausted for this."

Coco and Fox both almost yelled back when they looked at their auras on the screen, they were dangerously low. Lancelot and Perseus both gathered around their leader, Caramel leaped next to them with her ax drawn. The four regarded their opponent as it roared again, charging at them.

"Split!" Beowulf yelled, three of them broke off, while Beowulf stayed firmly planted. The creature didn't object as it swung it's arm at the man, expecting him to go flying. The huge man suddenly leaped back, narrowly avoiding the blow, and seemed to be waiting for something. That's when the creature felt a burning pain in its left leg, it turned it's head to see a person in a black suit of armor jamming a lance into it's foot, pinning it.

The rancor roared again, reaching for the pest, only for it to feel another burning pain in it's chest. It looked down to see that Perseus was jamming his blade into it's chest, before leaping up and landing on it's head. The warrior jammed his blade into the creatures head, before blasting it with lightning. The blade conducted it like a lightning rod, the creature roared again, reaching for the man. Only to discover that it's hand wasn't attached to it's body.

It turned to see that Caramel ax was glowing orange, and that the woman had a big smile on her face. It paid her no mind as it slammed it's into the ground, dislodging the warrior attached to it's head. It whirled around to see that Beowulf had rushed for his bigger blade, the rancor roared as it charged, the crowd gasped, no one could lift that blade and swing it in time to stop the charging creature.

As Beowulf reached it, he slammed his smaller sword into the blade, the creature was almost upon him. That's when the mechanics of the sword revealed themselves, rockets along the dull side blasted, swinging the sword around. The creatures path put it right above him, the blade cleaved it foot in half. Beowulf smiled as he swung again, this time, the rockets cut through the leg, severing it.

The creature fell into a heap, the hunter leaping out of the way.

"Lance, now!" Beowulf yelled, prompting everyone, including the beast, to look at the plate clad warrior, whose weapon had unfolded to reveal a huge rifle. The barrel started glowing blue, and a distinct whirring was heard. The creature knew that it wasn't good to remain in this spot, but having no arm and leg prevented it from moving. The gun fired, a huge blast ringing out as the projectile hit it. The creature exploded, each piece disentigrating as it flew away.

"Is everyone all right?" Beowulf yelled to the shocked audience, most of whom nodded, "Good, I believe that should satisfy your interest, now then…where's the food court?"

As the crowd laughed at the joke, Emarald and Mercury eye's and mouth were agape. This was a problem, these guys were more dangerous than they thought. However, they knew that the plan was still intact, the pair started to walk off. Emerald stopped at a cage, looking at the Beowolf that was inside. Suddenly, she felt a hand push her away, the beast paw narrowly missing her.

"Thanks, Mercury." Emerald said with a smile, only to see that she was alone. All she smelled was a faing scent of blood on the air…

 **And it's done, now, important announcement regarding the story. I originally hoped to get this going by now, but, due to plot twist on the actual RWBY show, it's still on hiatus until the end of the volume three. If this is being read and there are other chapters, disregard this message and have a nice day.**


	2. Give me Liberty!

Teams RWBY, JNPR, ROSA, EMBR, and LWTJ all gathered round their lunch table. It had been a few hours since team's BLCP's fight against the Rancor Grimm, and most people were here to avoid Goodwitch, who was understandably pissed off. The teams weren't discussing the anger, however, rather the awesomeness of the famous team BLCP.

"Did you see his sword? Rocket boosters, that's so cool!" Ruby gushed as she pictured the weapon, the sexy parts moving in her mind.

"I thought that Lancelot fellows weapon was by far the coolest, a railgun? Sign me up!" Richard said with a hearty laugh, getting a few grunts in agreement.

"The teamwork they performed with was admirable," Weiss said, getting a few looks from the group, "Hey, I'm not saying anything about you guys, they managed to defeat a Grimm under serious pressure, and with extreme speed."

"Too be fair, she's right." Emily said with a laugh, which prompted the rest of the table to laugh as well.

"I guess, I wonder if I'll get a chance to meet them…" Ruby said aloud, only for a huge hand to clasp her back.

"You will," A familiar booming voice rang out, Ruby slowly turned around to regard the big man…before squealing like a school girl. The huge young man stood in front of her, his black beard shining in the light, "Though the honor is mine, I wanted to meet the legendary Ruby Rose, and I must say…you certainly look the part to be a huntress."

"Wait, you heard about me?" Ruby said with shock.

"Youngest person to attend Beacon Academy, currently one of the few scythe wielders in the world, and one of the cutest people here? Sound like you? You're legendary already, talk of you seeps throughout the schools. Many people are striving to be like you already." Beowulf said as he laughed heartily.

"I'm pleased to meet you, my name is…" Weiss started, only for Beowulf to cut her off.

"Weiss Schnee, I know of you," The big man said, leaning over her. Weiss looked understandably terrified, "The heir to the Schnee dynasty…and one of the best damn fighters I've ever seen, I appreciate a warrior who knows how to use Dust. You were a little stiff from what I've seen at first, but you seem to have gotten over that."

"Nice sword, you make that?" Yang asked, earning a grin from Beowulf.

"Aye, forged it myself," The warrior said, only for the clearing of a throat to cut him off, "Forgive me, you all know who we are, but I like pleasantries."

"What he means is that he likes to brag about us," Caramel said as she stepped forward, "Don't be fooled though, he still cares about his team."

"Ahh, whatever, the question stands, mind if we sit with you? Everyone else seems to be running away in fear." Beowulf said, to which the teens nodded, all of them in slight shock. Team BLCP sitting…with them? They might not have been full blown hunters, but their reputation made them practically rock stars.

"Hey, there's actually a question I wish to ask you." Blake cut in suddenly, earning a smile from Beowulf.

"At last, she speaks, and with a cute bow as well, playful like a cat." Beowulf said with a wink, earning a shocked expression from the teams. How did he know that?

"Uhm…your name, I know your named after your ancestor, but does it get confusing in battle?" Blake asked, her curiosity peaked.

"Nah, we just call him by his last name, Gras." Perseus replied, taking a drink from a glass.

"Tell me, Beowulf Gras, you here for the tournament?" Leonidas asked suddenly, taking everybody by surprise.

"Of course he is, why else would he be…" Weiss started before Beowulf cut her off.

"Your perceptive, I'll give you that," Beowulf said, leaning forward unto the table, "And the answer is yes and no, you see…we transferred over, after the tournament, we're full-fledged students of Beacon."

"Wait, what?" Ruby asked as everyone stared at the new team.

"Too be fair, this is the best hunter school around, decided to get some better training. We would have joined sooner, if it wasn't for Caramel not being able to keep her grades up." Beowulf said with a laugh as Caramel flipped him off.

"Hey, you try keeping your grades up when you actually have a life outside of fighting." Caramel replied back, prompting everyone to start laughing. All except for the silent knight of Lancelot, who merely stared on into space.

"Tell me, are you participating in the Grimm hunts?" Leo asked, stopping all laughter.

"The Grimm hunts? What are those?" Rick asked, every head turning to face him, "…What?"

"The Grimm hunts are how they test the arena for the festival, they select a few teams from the schools to fight Grimm in the arena. Make sure everything is working right, it's considered a great honor." Weiss said in a matter of factly manor.

"Alas, no…we weren't invited, I assume you were?" Beowulf said with a laugh as Leo stood up with pride.

"Yes, and its open to the public, why don't you guys come and watch? It's starting soon." The leader said, his team following suit. The rest of the group looked around, most of whom shrugged as they got up to follow.

 **At the Amity Coliseum…**

The teams all gathered in the arena, staring at the floor. The stadium was packed, not just because some students wanted a glimpse of competitors, but also because many of them had never seen the arena operate. On the screens, Ozpins face took up the monitor.

"I welcome you to the Amity Colosseum, today, we test the mettle of these hunters and huntress initiates in combat against the true enemy of man, the Grimm," Ozpin said as he took a sip from his mug of coffee, "Our first team up to demonstrates their abilities is team LWTJ of Fate academy, led by Leonidas Khrusos."

The team strode out into the battle field with the slots spinning to determine the environment, normally, it would be multiple environments put together, but for this event it was a single environment, couldn't allow the participating teams too much of a lead on the way things worked. The slots stopped on the symbol for desert, and the arena descended to ready itself. It rose with cages on it as the screen changed to show a timer.

"All right," Leo said as he took a few steps forward before turning back to face his men, "My team, there they stand, enemies to all of humanity. The creatures of Grimm that haunt our nightmares, the reason why a hunter is supposed to fight. They crave the death of all good natured people, they hate the innocent lives of even the purist child, and we are all that stand against them. I hope they've had their fill of man-flesh, for TONIGHT THEY DINE IN HELL!"

"Well, that's only clearly showboating," Micca said with a grin, "Though, I admit, it was one hell of a speech."

"It wasn't just for the crowd," Perseus said with a grin, "Leo is another legend from Mistral, he graduated top of his class. His semblance is well known, he can bring in army in from the depths of despair with his voice, he can inspire anyone to fight to the death, and by Dust it works."

"So that's why I feel an urge to rush in with my chainsaw and start tearing these things apart," Rick said as he put his arm over Micca, "One hell of a semblance."

"Still not as good as mine," Micca said as she snuggled closer, "Course, I don't need to use it on you, do I?"

"Alas, you expel complete control over me my snake goddess." Rick said with a grin, right before the buzzers sounded off. Everyone stared at the arena with a mixture of fear and awe as the crates opened, a silent beat hung in the air, the crows leaned forward. The Grimm burst out, their eyes glowing red and their teeth gnashing as they charged. It was an entire pack of Beowolves, as well as two King Taijitu. The leader smiled at the sight as he raised his sword to the sky.

"Scatter, don't let them surround you!" Leo yelled, the group leaped apart as the Grimm crashed into the platform. Leo landed in front of a King Taijitu, the two heads hissed as they surrounded him. The Spartan laughed as one tried to strike at him, the Spartan slammed his shield into the creatures head, sending it flying back. He didn't stop moving as the second tried to come from behind, he quickly slashed at it, cutting deep into its face.

The beast roared as it leaned back, allowing the second to try and strike again. This time, Leo held the shield up, allowing the creature to slam into it. The Spartan didn't even budge as the blow hit, leaving the audience gasping. Leo grit his teeth as he started pushing back, moving the creature's head ever so slightly, allowing him enough leverage to shove and slam his shield downward, knocking the creature into the cold ground.

"Time to end this…" The leader muttered as he suddenly lowered his shield down, slamming his leg into a button. The shields edge suddenly roared to life, spinning like a buzz saw, as he slammed it down. The saw blade ripped through the creature like butter, slicing its head clean off. The other head roared as it tried to avenge it's other half, only for Leo to turn around and throw his shield ala Captain America style, the buzz saw blade cutting it in half.

The Spartan held his hand to the sky in victory, knowing that his team was perfectly fine in handling these creatures, and, to his credit, they weren't actually in any danger. Josephine had jumped to the left, right into the mass of the Beowolves. On the bright side, the pack had split up to take on someone else, but it was still a large group of the monsters.

Josephine drew her weapon, a saber and went to work. The blade flashed as it cleaved through the creatures, leaving halves to fall to the floor. It wasn't difficult, however, especially since Beowolves were some of the weakest forms of Grimm. However, one misstep was all it took for a claw to shove her against the wall, those watching gasped as the creature raised its paw for a final blow. It didn't see that Josephine had a smirk, she dropped her sword, reached over and pulled out her scabbard. She yelled a battle cry as it transformed into a pump action shotgun, the creature didn't have time to yelp as she pulled the trigger, sending it flying.

The rest of the creatures roared as they charged, only to get a similar fate. The teen in red smiled as she brought the barrel up and blew away the smoke like a badass, before strolling to meet with Leo as he pumped into the air. Willow, however, got one of the shorter ends of the stick, she jumped right into a smaller group of Beowolves that happened to have an Alpha level Beowolf Grimm.

The normal ones attacked first, Willow quickly drew her huge claymore and cleaved through three of them in a single stroke. The second wave fell in a similar manner, that's when the alpha ran in. Willow swung her sword in a downward arc, only for the beast to catch it with its paw.

"Oh, shi…" Will muttered as the creature threw her, right into a more open space were the Grimm would have more room to maneuver. The highlander smiled as she reached into her pocket, pulling out a blue Dust crystal. A slot opened at the base of her blade and she slide it in as the younger Grimm charged her, Willow's smile grew as she swung her blade at the ground. Ice erupted from the area, creating spikes that the Grimm impaled themselves on.

The older Grimm roared as it charged, Willow quickly slammed her blade into the earth, icing it to become like a hockey rink. The creature roared as it slipped and fell down, flying past the teen. It flew into a nearby dune, the Grimm roared as it got to its feet. Willow smirked, however, as the slot flew open, and she let the Dust loose. The creature roared as it charged, only for it to be frozen slowly as it got close. Its claws stopped only a few inches from her face, the highlander laughed as she slammed the butt of the blade into it, shattering it.

The highlander walked into the middle of the arena alongside Josephine and Leonidas, who was still holding his hand up. That's when the crowd gasped, the trio turned to see that Teddy was actually being slammed upon by the second King Taijitu. The crowd's eyes wouldn't leave the sight as Teddy was buried deep into the rock, leaving him almost certainly dead. The Grimm shifted its sights to the trio, who readied their weapons, ready to avenge their fallen comrade. That's when a voice filled the air.

"YOU THINK THAT WILL KILL A BULL MOOSE?" Teddy's voice rang out as he climbed out of the hole, barely looking any worse for wear. He popped his neck like a badass before pulling out his weapon, a lever action rifle with a bowie knife bayonet. The Grimm roared as it charged him again, the teen simply started firing shot after shot, each shot hitting the Grimm, forcing it back. It roared in frustration as the second head sneaked around, ready for a surprise attack.

Teddy laughed as he turned around, slamming his bayonet into the creatures face. It roared in agony as the teen ripped it out, before, without looking, firing a shot that hit the other one, this time blowing its brains out. The other head tried to rise, but Teddy planted his foot on its face. The barrel suddenly opened up, letting the knife fall free. The cowboy grabbed it and slammed it down hard, not needed, but he decided he might as well showboat.

The crowd erupted into applause as the team stepped into the circle, all of them doing various signs of victory. Leonidas was pumping his fist, Willow was swinging her sword around like a madman, Josephine just calmly bowed, and Teddy? Well, he put his rifle back together, and slung it on his back and started intensity than the rest. Emerald and Mercury put away their scrolls as they got up and walked away, ready to report to Cinder.

 **A few hours later, aboard the Atlas Flagship…**

"Do you see any problems?" A random soldier asked Jessie, who was at a computer screen on the ship.

"Outside of the fact that you need better Grimm, no, nothing out of the ordinary." Jesse said, taking a sip of coffee.

"Well…then…" The soldier said, only for Jesse to cut him off.

"I know, time to go back to the cell, been through this before." The prisoner said as he got to his feet, stretching his medium size frame along the way. He held out his hands, allowing them to be cuffed as he was led away. Jesse was soon back in his cell, a simple white room with a white bed and a nightstand bolted to the wall. He also had a plain bathroom and shower, nothing that would allow him to escape of course.

The prisoner's handcuffs were taken off as he went in, so he went to the shower, taking off his clothes as he went. The hot water took some of the stiffness out of his joints as he cleaned off. The man got out and put on a towel to cover himself, had to dry off somehow and he decided to air drive, if the cameras caught his nether regions, well, hopefully they liked what they saw. As he sat down, he pulled out a book from his nightstand, a copy of 'The Thief and the Butcher,' and started reading. An hour passed, maybe two, but suddenly the lights in his room flickered.

"I know your there," Jesse said without looking up from his book, a figure stepped out of the shadows. It was a female, she wore red, had a huge katana at her hips, and wore a Grimm mask, "Tell me, Raven, did you bring me something?"

The woman through him something, the man chuckled as he pulled out a cigarette.

"Got a light?" The man asked, Ravens hands moved quickly and her sword's blade heated up and soon, he got his light.

"You know, that brand is hard to find." The woman said, earning a laugh from the prisoner.

"Of course it is, only tobacco product to _not_ use tobacco, all the wonders of tobacco, none of the risk. It's a wonder why it hasn't caught on," Jesse said with a laugh, taking a drag, "Though…I imagine that this isn't a social call for you to give me some smokes."

"I needed to talk to you, things have started happening." Raven said, earning a look from Jesse.

"Yeah, Grimm getting into the city, White Fang going quiet right after, definitely suspicious. Though…not enough for Ozpin or Ironwood to ask for my help." Jesse said, taking another drag.

"They haven't? Never mind that…I needed to ask you…that request I made from you?" Raven said, hoping that Jesse would catch on.

"Yeah, of course it still stands, Yang Xiao Long is under my protection. Any problem arrives, I'll deal with it, whatever the cost." Jesse stated, getting a sigh of relief from Raven.

"Tell me, why are you here?" Raven asked suddenly, getting a laugh from Jesse.

"The refreshments," The prisoner said, stopping his laughter as Raven gave him a hard stare, "OK, in truth? No reason to leave, Council ordered Ironwood keep me here, if something that arises that needs my attention, they'll call me out."

"Interesting…" Raven said, something in her voice tipped Jesse that something was off.

"What, what's going on?" The prisoner asked, much more concerned now.

"It's nothing, tell me…could you escape this place if you needed too?" Raven asked, getting a scoff from the man.

"You think they actually are holding me? The only reason I'm still here is because I let myself stay, nothing more, nothing less. They couldn't stop me from leaving if they tried." Jesse said, earning a chuckle from Raven.

"I know, I just needed to hear it…take care, Jesse Stampede, be warned…you might be needed a lot sooner than you think…" Raven said, before she disappeared in a red light. Jesse stood sitting down, puffing thoughtfully on his smoke.

"OK, somethings not right…I sure hope Ozpin knows what he's doing…" Jesse said as he leaned over and flicked off the light near him, shrouding him in darkness.

 **At Beacon…**

Cinder frowned as she looked at a newly arrived message, it was from Torchwick. Why would he risk contacting her like this? Did he know the kind of danger he was causing to the entire plan? Cinder growled as she opened the message, only for her eyes to widen in shock, worry, and fear.

"Cinder, I've made a recent discovery aboard our dear friend Ironwood's vessel, Jesse Stampede is here. It seems like he's a prisoner, but he's been given access to data. I don't think I need to tell you what would happen if he gets wind of the operation, on the bright side, he's still a prisoner, but if even half the legends are true. I don't need to tell you what he's capable of. Hugs and kisses, Roman." Is what the letter read.

Cinder looked around, the dorm was empty, Emerald had left to start infiltrating RWBY and Mercury was off to try and get some info on Rick Grimmes. On top of that, she had just received word that the White Fang had assigned a new commander to the task force meant to take down this…team that Ozpin was assembling with ROSA and EMBR, but this? This required her full attention, Jesse was not only a capable fighter, but a capable detective, hunter, and hunter killer. She needed evidence to break him…

That's when suddenly the smell of blood filled the air, she looked up to see a face shrouded by a mask and a hat, all that was visible was his burning eyes. She recoiled in fear as the man reached for her, his hand seemed to pass right through her. She blinked suddenly, only to find that the man had gone. She looked around, shocked and scared. He was no were to be found, Cinder sighed loudly.

This night was extremely stressful, she just needed some rest right now. She flicked off the lights, not seeing the face staring at her through the window, before disappearing all together…

 **What's this? An update after I said to wait? Well…a certain someone made a point about the last chapter that made me write this one, so NOW is the hiatus till we get more info.**

 **As always, Review, and drop a fave or a follow if you wish to see more…**


	3. Interlude: The Killer and the Hunter

**Fair warning, this next chapter is filled with dark themes and violent content, though not enough to warrant an M rating…Also, the length is kind of ridiculous, so sorry.**

 _My name is Jesse Stampede, pleased to meet you…_

 _She's innocent, and besides, she's our teammate, we stick together no matter what…_

 _What the…_ (Gunshot)

 _Would you have gone if I had asked?_

A younger version of Jesse walked into the halls of Beacon as he held his side, blood dripped from it as he slinked around the halls. His eye's burned with fire as he started off towards one of the lecture halls, a memorial service was being held as he gripped at a ring around his neck. The doors flew open with a kick, the crowd turned and stared in shock. His eyes fell on the picture of the people they were mourning, it was of two people, a woman and him.

"Nice to see you got my good side," Jesse stated as he regarded the two members of his team, a man and a woman. The woman looked shocked as she regarded the man in front of her, the man started sweating, and "I assume that you told them a sob story? A story to make it seem like we died in an accident?"

"I…" The man started to speak, right before a gunshot rang out. The man's eyes bulged as the bullet entered his chest, spraying the memorial with blood. The smoking gun stayed in Jesse's hand as he stumbled forward, the woman screamed as she fell back. Jesse stood over the man, his trench coat dripping with water from a recent rain.

"You just couldn't take it, could you? The dishonor spread by false rumors?" Jesse stated, his voice loud and hoarse.

"She was a harlo…" The man started, right before Jesse stomped on his wound.

"She was a friend that you so callously murdered, I don't take that well…" Jesse said with a dark stare.

"Please…don't…" The man begged, right before Jesse, without ceremony, shot him point blank in the head. The gunslinger fell back a few steps, right into the arms of a scythe wielder.

"Qrow, take me back to my room please, I need to sleep." Jesse said, right before passing out in the man's arms. A quiet gasp was heard as a woman in a white hood walked around to check on him, a woman in red walked around as well.

"He's all right, just exhausted." The woman said as she helped pick him up.

"Freshman…man that's young to have to deal with that…" An Irish voice sounded, a man with a katana walked to help the group.

 _The charges were dropped? How?_

 _Avenger, Murderer, Killer…why do they call me those?_

 _What should I do? There's no coming back from this…_

Jesse stared at the dance floor from above, time had passed, but the man didn't seem to care. He reached into this trench coat and pulled out a hip flask, downing the drink desperately.

"Drinking alone?" A female voice came from behind him, Jesse whirled around him to see a woman with a sword on her back.

"Not many people want to drink with a killer." Jesse spat back, obviously not in the mood to talk.

"Not many people have the strength to kill a teammate for a crime, but here we are," The woman said, leaning onto the railing. Jesse grunted as he took another swig, "My name is…

"Meryl Wolfwood, I know, you're to be a replacement on my team." Jesse said, earning a laugh from Meryl.

"I see you've done your research, so have I," Meryl said as she leaned back, "Jesse Stampede, born in Vacuo, raised in a border town. You saw a lot of fighting growing up, and you developed a quick hand as well as a sharp mind. You didn't attend a school until you got to Beacon, where your Grimm kill count was the main reason why you entered."

"Impressive, did you see why I needed a new team?" Jesse said, his annoyance growing.

"One of them was killed by the other, you killed him, the other gave up being a Huntress and is now working at a bar…am I correct?" Meryl said, Jesse fixed her with a cold stare.

"You'd be correct, anything else I should know?" Jesse said as he turned to the dancefloor.

"I'd like to take you out to coffee, would next Tuesday work for you?" Meryl said, making Jesse do a spit take.

"What? Why?" The gunslinger asked, suddenly blushing.

"Because, I want to get to know you better, besides…you could use a friend, speaking of which, you've got another visitor." Meryl said, pointing past Jesse to a girl in a white robe. The sword wielder grinned as she walked off, giving the pair some privacy.

"Summer, shouldn't you be out dancing?" Jesse said, his voice lighting up at the sight of the girl. She smiled as she raised her hand, a package wrapped in a white bow. Jesse took it, slightly confused. He unwrapped it, not sure what to make of this entire situation. It opened to reveal a pendent…with a crow on it, Jesse looked up in confusion, only to see that Summer had vanished.

Jesse stared at the pendent, to many, it was the symbol of the crow, to a Hunter, it was the symbol of a Hunter of Hunters…someone who righted the wrongs of others and avenged the fallen…that's when it hit him. He knew exactly what Summer meant by this, and Jesse had to admit…she made a good point.

 _A Hunter of Hunters?! This is an outrage!_

 _A necessary evil…_

 _The best chance we have…_

 _The highest kill count of hunters under his belt…_

 _I love you, Meryl Wolfwood, I always will…_

The sun shined on the footsteps of Beacon as the bells played, only this time, it was the sound of a wedding. Jesse walked down the steps in a tux, Meryl in a white dress, people all gathered round clapping. They kissed again as they walked away, the reception area waiting for them. The day quickly went into night as they group partied, a woman in a black tank top and tattoos on her arms walked up to Jesse.

"Congratulations you f-, didn't know you had it in you." The woman said, getting a laugh from Meryl.

"Nice to see you too, Revy. You staying in town for a while?" The bride asked, getting a big grin from the other woman.

"Of course, got to take you two out tomorrow for a real party." The woman said, only for a hand to clasp her back. A black man with an eyepatch and a robotic right arm grinned as he picked Revy up in a hug.

"Been too long since I went out drinking with you lassie." The guy said with a Scottish accent as he set her down.

"Of course it's been, with you working in Vacuo all the time, Buccaneer," Revy said before dragging the man off, "We've got a lot to talk about, see you two tomorrow!"

"Now that they're gone," a soft, British voice filled the air. The pair turned to regard a smaller woman in a yellow shirt, she had red eyes, and "Congratulations are in order."

"Sera, I didn't know if your boss would let you out." Jesse laughed as he took her hand.

"Yes, Integra was happy to see me get some fresh air, also, the Crimson F-cker sends his regards." The girl said with a giggle as she let go of the hand.

"Of course he did," Jesse said before a hand fell on his shoulder, the gunslinger turned to regard Qrow, "Ah, if it isn't my sparring buddy, is little Ruby here?"

"No, at home with the flu, she'll be fine," Qrow said with a grin, "Yang's helping with her."

"Damn, how old is Ruby? Four?" Jesse asked.

"Five, darling." Meryl said with a grin.

"Damn, she grew up fast." Jesse said with a laugh.

"Tell me, how's being the best crow out there feel?" The scythe wielder asked.

"Depends on present company, either they love me or they hate me." Jesse said, his face falling.

"But he's a necessary evil." Goodwitch's voice made three jump, they turned to see the woman's smiling face. Ozpin stood next to her with a mug of coffee, which he sipped as his smile at the pair.

"I congratulate you two, also, Aedan sends his regards. He's busy dealing with a group of Faunas radicals in the south." Ozpin said as he started beaming at the two in pride.

"Of course he is, bastard loves fighting. I can't imagine him anywhere else." Jesse said with a smile.

"Well, it's time to dance, come along." Ozpin said as they group walked towards the dance floor, ready to dance the night away.

 _A hunter must be ready for anything…_

 _Help can come from the smallest of packages…_

 _One of the best things about being a Hunter, you get to meet a lot of interesting people…_

Jesse walked along the lines of the town, smoke rising from the chimney as the night fell. The hunter yawned as he started towards a warehouse, he was eager to finish his job. The cowboy stopped in his tracks as he saw a young woman walking along, she stopped and stared at him with wide eyes. Jesse grunted, he was used to this by now.

"Excuse me, have you per chance seen this man around?" Jesse said, pulling out a picture of a man with a scar over his eyes. The girl's eyes came into focus as he got closer, they were different colors. One was brown while the other was pale pink, Jesse made note of this as she observed the picture. She smiled and pointed at the warehouse, confirming Jesse's suspicions.

The cowboy nodded as he started off, the girl watching him as he wandered into the building. She started walking away, right before an explosion was heard. The girl whirled around to see that Jesse had been flung out, his eyes knitted shut in anger. A man walked out of the building, fear evident on his face. He quickly pulled out a red vial and downed it, his eyes widened as he almost fell. The man was in obvious pain as he got up, but he smiled all the same.

"You shouldn't have come here crow," The man said as he started to raise his fist into the air, "Now I am going to bring this world to its knees!"

"Oh, shut up you stupid fool," Jesse muttered as he drew his pistol and fired, hitting the man in the stomach. A flash of red told Jesse that he had hit, "That was the only vial left of the Grimm's blood, now…I just need to kill you."

The man howled as his eyes turned red and he fell to his knees, Jesse's face told the girl all she needed to know. They were in trouble, big trouble. The man screamed as his skin seemed to crawl, the girl averted her eyes, she could tell what came next. A rip was heard and something wet hit the ground, the girl returned her gaze. She almost fell down at the sight, the man had become a horrifying abomination.

His skin had fallen off to reveal black fur, bones were visible as he roared. His snout was filled with horribly mismatched teeth, but his claws…they shined like blades in the fading sunlight. The creature fixed Jesse with its gaze, the Hunter merely growled as he pulled out his gun and fired. The creature nimbly dodged the bullet, before running and pinning the hunter to a nearby wall. Jesse snarled as he fired a few shots into the creature's eye, forcing it to drop him as it roared in pain.

The cowboy fired a few more shots into the creature's torso, only for it to barely effect the creature at all. It bared its fangs again as it charged, Jesse quickly reached to his back, but the creature slammed into him again. A large, silver pistol flew from his grasp, landing right in front of the girl. She stared at it, before picking it up. She yelped as Jesse was thrown next to her, his groan telling her he was alive.

The creature snarled as it regarded the girl, and in that moment, it started smiling. The girl took a step back, it's licked its lips not for meat but for something else. She looked quickly to Jesse, who had gotten to his feet. She quickly shoved the pistol into his waiting hand, he smiled as he cocked it and fired. The creature roared again as it charged, expecting the bullet to not hurt like before. He was wrong, the bullet hit…and the creature's torso seemingly lost its entire mass. The creature fell down, a twisted mass of limbs. Jesse laughed morbidly at the sight, before turning to the girl.

"Thanks…hey, you live around here?" Jesse asked, earning a sly grin from the girl, who shook her head, "No? Well, there's a nice hotel in town, here you go."

Jesse handed her a wad of cash, the girl eyes widened in confusion.

"What? You thought I was approaching you for sex? No, I've got a beautiful wife at home whom I won't ever betray, tell me, what's your name?" The crow asked, earning a sincere smile from the girl, who leaned up to his ear, "Neo? Well, it's nice to meet you Neo, I owe you one…"

 _Penny…Penny's a good name…_

 _She's got your eyes…_

 _Wait, what do you mean she's in the hospital?_

 _MERYL!_

Rain poured down on the crowds head as they looked solemnly at the casket, Jesse was at the head in black. Tears fell down his face as the raid did, his teeth grinded together as he tried to keep his composure. The group watched as the casket was lowered into the ground, soon, everyone walked off. Everyone one of them put their hand on his shoulder as they walked past, Qrow, Ozpin, Ironwood, and others all passed as he wept, even a mysterious girl with mismatched eyes hugged him as she passed.

Soon, it seemed like he was the only one left. however, just as he was about to leave, a hand grabbed his. He jumped as he regarded the holder, a short girl with orange hair.

"Penny? What are you doing here?" Jesse asked, in slight shock at the sight of the girl.

"I wanted to come," Penny said with a sad smile as she regarded the grave, "I'm going to miss her."

"Yeah…me too…say, how long are you allowed to stay out?" Jesse asked suddenly, earning a smile from Penny.

"A few hours, why?" The girl answered to which the cowboy smiled.

"Meryl would kill me if I stood around moping, you know how she was. Let's get out of here, find a place out of the rain." Jesse said, gently taking her hand as he led her off. The hunter knew that he was being watched as he led her to his car, they couldn't let their prized invention get away from them of course. Jesse started the car and off they went, stopping at a restaurant named The Shining Roar. It was a nice place, not suspicious in the slightest.

The pair walked in, the waiter smiled as he saw Jesse.

"Ah, Monsieur Stampede, so good to see you again. I'm sorry about Madame Meryl, we heard about it. She will be missed greatly," The waiter said as he started leading the two towards a table, "And the young Mademoiselle name is?"

Penny started to reply when Jesse cut her off.

"Daisy, she was Meryl's cousin, came in for the funeral." Jesse said simply, giving the girl a wink.

"Of course, what will you be having today sir?" The waiter asked.

"Ratatouille for me, duck an l'orange for her." Jesse said with a grin.

"And to drink?" The waiter said as he filled out a notepad.

"I'll take some please." Penny said.

"Bring me some wine, Red Celestial perhaps?" Jesse asked, earning a smile from the waiter.

"Ah, yes, Meryl's favorite, of course. And, if I may add, it'll be on the house." The waiter said, running off before Jesse could protest.

"So, tell me, what have you been doing? They still running test?" Jesse said as the bottle and glass of water were put on the table seemingly at random. Penny started drinking here's as Jesse poured himself a glass.

"No, I went out and about a few days ago, met some new friends." Penny said with a grin, earning one in return from Jesse.

"Really? What are their names?" The cowboy asked as he took a sip. The waiters brought out their food, setting it down quickly before they took off. The pair started to eat as Penny went on.

"It was a team from Beacon, team RWBY." Penny said, the name stopped Jesse dead in his tracks.

"Team RWBY? Did they have a…blonde girl and a red head?" The man asked as he started eating again.

"Oh, yes, Ruby and Yang, I believe they are sisters." Penny said as she continued eating.

"Yes they are, me and their parents are old friends." Jesse said as he swallowed another sip of wine.

"They're also really good at fighting, I saw one of them take on some White Fang at the docks." Penny said, before looking to the ground in shame. Jesse decided not to press that subject.

"So…how long are you staying in town?" The crow asked, finishing up his meal.

"Staying for the tournament, I'm fighting in it." Penny replied, making Jesse choke on his wine.

"Wait…your fighting in the tournament?" Jesse said, his voice getting strained.

"Yes, is there a problem?" Penny asked as Jesse looked around.

"No, there isn't, hey…have you ever seen the Darkroot Gardens?" Jesse asked suddenly getting a strange stare from Penny.

"No…" Penny said, earning a smile from Jesse.

"Well, you've got time, let's go…" The crow said as he grabbed Penny's shoulder and led her away. They walked out the door, only to be surrounded by Atlas soldiers. Ironwood stepped out of a random car, pulling on his gloves as he walked forward.

"Penny, it's time to go home, the hunter and I have some things to discuss." The general said, Penny gave Jesse a concerned look, but still walked into the car. The door closed and the vehicle sped away, Ironwood turned around…only to see that Jess had pulled his gun. The soldiers all nervously shifted their weapons, only stopping from firing because Ironwood held up his hand.

"Ironwood…the tournament? You can't be serious…" Jesse said, a slight hint of desperation coming into his voice.

"Jesse, we're old friends…let's talk this out…" Ironwood started before Jesse cut him off.

"No…I know why you're here…the council is afraid that I might have some dirty little secret of theirs…You've been ordered to capture me. It might surprise you, but I've still got friends in there. But that's not why I'm pointing this gun at you…" Jesse stated, staring deep into the generals eyes, "No…I'm holding this gun on you because I won't let you turn that girl into a weapon."

"Jesse…you're grieving, I know you've become attached to Penny, but believe me when I say that I have her best interest at heart." Ironwood said calmly, a certain amount of care in his voice.

"Maybe, but you're not the only general, are you?" The hunter said, his eyes narrowing, "The council, the other generals…I know what they'll do…if they can't control her, they'll end her. I won't let that happen, even if I have to kill every last one of you."

"I'm sorry…" Ironwood said, a shot rang out, and suddenly Jesse felt a current of energy run through him. He fell to the floor, twitching in pain. The soldier rushed forward, disarming him and dragging him to another car. Jesse got one last look at the general before falling into unciouness.

"No…no you're not." Jesse whispered as he was loaded on the truck, falling into the blackness. He snapped away, it felt like moments but he knew it had been hours. He was in an interrogation room, all black. Ironwood stood in front of him, looking down at a scroll.

"You're awake, good," Ironwood said, looking up to regard the man, "Look, I know that we've had our differences, and that the council ordered me to capture you. However, what I cannot deny is that you offer a service that very few can do, so I have a preposition. You work with us, we send you data, you analyze said data, and you give us your opinions and findings."

"And what do I get out of the deal?" Jesse replied back, obviously annoyed at the way things had turned out.

"I'll make sure your stay is as comfortable as possibly." The general said, holding his hand in front of him.

"No…but here's a counter offer, I'll do all of that on one condition," Jesse said, leaning forward, "You'll give Penny a choice, not a choice, but the choice."

"I can't guarantee that." Ironwood replied, getting a laugh from Jesse.

"I know, I'll play ball though…Just know this," Jesse said in between laughs, "She's under my protection, you know what that means…"

XOXOXOXOX

 _(Insert old wise man voice) Tell me, what is your name?_

 _My names Aedan, let me help you with that._

 _A good boy…he told me he wants to be a hunter, tell me…would you allow me to tutor him?_

The younger version of Aedan's body sweated as he swung his wooden Bokken through the air, the wood chopping the air like a knife through butter. He breathed heavily as he calmly swung his weapon, the elegance of the style evident as he chopped, slashed, and blocked his invisible enemy. The light filled the room through the rice paper walls, the dojo barely illuminated by the setting sun.

A nearby floor level desk was near, a letter of acceptance was placed on it. It bore the sign of Beacon, an old man walked into the place, leaving the door open. He sat on his knees as he watched the teen practice, Aedan finished his exercise before turning and bowing to the old man.

"Sensei Mitsurugi, it's good to see you." The Irish teen said, getting a laugh from the old man.

"It's good to see you as well, though…I must ask, why are you here? You just graduated from your school, Beacon is coming up in a few weeks. I'd imagine that you'd be out celebrating." The old man said as he got to his feet, walking over to a rack with a set of samurai blades on it.

"…You know why I came," Aedan said, walking over to a pack that was hidden in the darkness, "You said it was time."

"A man who keeps his promises, that was one of the things that I liked about you." Mitsurugi said as he reached over to draw a blade.

"I am, but this will be the hardest one that I must keep." Aedan said as he drew a blade, this one a deathly silver engraved with Japanese characters. He kneeled on the ground, reading the blade.

"No, it won't," The old man said, turning to regard the teen, "It is merely the hardest one right now, I've been around for a long time. This is nothing compared to what you will have to do later."

"Well…Sensei, it's time for me to free you…" Aedan said, suddenly lashing forward, only to be blocked by the old man.

"Yes, but you'll have to earn it." The sensei said with a sad smile, Aedan nodded his head as he broke free, jumping back. Mitsurugi charged and the pair exchanged blows, however, no anger was felt between the two, no fear filled the air, only a strange melancholy. The pair glided across the floor, each one defending and striking, neither getting a hit. Finally, the pair broke off as they leaped back, a silence filled the air.

A breeze filled the open air, bringing red buds swirling into the room. The scene was perfect, the sun illuminating the pair as they brought their weapons to bear. The silence persisted for a single moment more, and the pair charged. A single slash was heard as they slide past each other, both with their arms out stretched. Blood splashed against the rice paper wall, someone had been cut. Aedan sheathed his blade as Mitsurugi fell to the floor.

"A sad day when the student surpasses the master." Aedan said with a sad smile.

"Don't mourn for me, my young apprentice," The sensei said as Aedan walked towards him, stopping over the old man's body, "You've freed me, freed me from that cursed sword."

"Aye, I don't feel…regret, I feel…happy." Aedan said, his voice dictating confusion.

"It's the feeling of helping someone, this is the last lesson I must teach you. Sometimes, you have to let go and see the future," Mitsurugi said, "I'm proud to have left a worthy successor."

Aedan smiled as the old man started to fade away, his skin turning to a heatless fire as he disappeared. The smile on his face never faded as his last sight was his apprentice, standing there with his head held high, ready to take on the world…

 _(Insert a strong female voice) You're in my way, red head…_

 _(Aedan) Well, excuse me princess but last time I checked, there was plenty of room..._

 _I'll ask again, out of my way. You won't get any pity from me…_

 _Charming, at least I won't have to deal with that chick anymore…_

Aedan sliced his blade across the Beowolf, cleaving it in two as the other fell back. The Irishman laughed as he saw their tails in between their legs, only to stop as he heard a twig snap behind him. He whirled around, swinging his sword in a downward chop, only for a bastard sword to block the blade. The pair's eyes met, and both groaned immediately.

"Of course it would be you," The other pair of eyes said, they belonged to a young woman, slightly taller than Aedan. She wore steel armor and her air was dyed steel grey, but her face was still young enough to pull the look off, "Don't slow me down."

"Hey, at least you blocked," Aedan said, his voice indicating that he wasn't' happy with his new partner, "I don't want to deal with killing some random girl who snuck up behind me."

"What, with that puny sword?" The girl scoffed as she started off, "You couldn't cut through butter, much less my armor."

"Hey," Aedan said, stopping the pair, "What's your name?"

"Tanya Frizzen, yours?" The girl said after a sigh.

"Aedan Flint, huh, that's kind of funny though…" Aedan said with a small giggle of his own.

"And what's that?" Tanya said, turning to face this idiot once again.

"Frizzen, old word for steel…maybe this was meant to be…" Aedan said with a laugh, earning a look of disgust from the knight.

"I hope that the rest of the team isn't as much of an idiot as you…" The girl said with a harsh stare.

"And I hope that the rest aren't tight asses like yourself…" Aedan said with a snarl, following the pair as they traveled down the road that would lead to their destiny…

 _Of all the bloody people I got stuck with, I had to get stuck with a stuck up knight, a deranged girl who I think can read my bloody mind, and this jackass who I'm pretty sure is a robot from the future sent to kill someone…_

 _The dance? Don't have a date, don't intend to get one, why?_

 _What do you mean he's not here?_

Aedan stared at his teammates in shock, one of them was a male, tall, buff, wore leather and shades. The other was a female, smaller, had an ax and a sword on her hips. Her hair was a mess, but she was currently sitting down and starting at her hands.

"Hamlet abandoned her," The big guy said with a thick, Austrian accent, "He's left the building for some other girl, and Tanya is upset."

"Of course she is," Aedan roared, pacing around the teams dorm room before sighing, "Tell me…is she still at the dance?"

"She's at the dance," The Girl brook out, "She's waiting, hoping that the rumors aren't true. She's about to cry, she wanted to appear strong, but now she is without a date…"

"Thanks River, new that psychic sense would help one day," Aedan said sarcastically before turning to face the bigger teen, "Arnold, can you keep an eye on River? Make sure we don't have an incident?"

"Confirmed, where are you going?" The teen said almost without emotion.

"To the bloody dance," Aedan said as he grabbed a seemingly random formal kimono, "Got to make sure our fearless leader doesn't embarrass herself."

The pair watched as the guy took off, running for the dance. Aedan quickly arrived at the location, partly because of concern, and partly because he hoped to see Hamlet's face so he could deck it, and practily kicked down the door. The crowd almost stopped and stared, but the look on his face told onlookers that he would probably try to rip them apart.

The samurai navigated his way through the crowd, before obviously getting lost.

"Looking for someone?" A familiar voice made him stop dead in his tracks, he turned to regard the headmaster of Beacon, Master Misho.

"Sensei, I didn't know you were here…" Aedan stammered, bowing before the old man.

"To hell with that, I know why you're here," Misho said in an urgent tone of voice, earning a raised eyebrow from Aedan, "She's upstairs, on the balcony, on the verge of tears. Go to her…"

Aedan almost didn't hear the last part as the bolted up the stairs with speed to make the later huntress Ruby Rose blush, the doors practically burst open. Tanya jumped as she whirled around, only to start laughing at Aedan.

"What are you wearing?" Tanya laughed, obviously trying to hide her sadness.

"What, this?" Aedan said, doing a turn around, "This was a gift from my late master, needed something I could throw on at short notice…like tonight."

"Oh…you don't need to worry about me…" Tanya started before Aedan rushed forward and gently grabbed her shoulder.

"No, I do…I know about Hamlet…" Aedan started, earning a small sigh from the knight.

"Aedan…" She started before Aedan cut her off.

"No…let me tell you something, some old wisdom that my ancestors taught me, if the man bloody runs, then his woman doesn't deserve him," Aedan started, "Hamlet ran away, leaving you alone. You know what? It isn't the end of the world, you've got at team, you've got a partner that cares, you've got friend, you've got…"

Aedan would have gone, but Tanya had smacked the top of his head.

"Shut up," Tanya said, barely surprising a giggle, "You sound like a romance novel."

"Well, to be fair…those are probably the closest thing I've ever gotten to a girlfriend," Aedan said, only for Tanya to burst out laughing. The Irishman stared at her for a few seconds, before realizing what he had just implied, "I didn't mean it like that!"

"I'm sure you didn't," Tanya said with a laugh before stopping, "Aedan…why did you come here?"

"Why wouldn't I? You're my leader?" Aedan said, his face going red.

"But…I'm so cruel to you…you still cared after all that?" The knight said, her voice full of shock.

"Aye, we might not get along, but A. you're not a complete pain, and B. You at least accepted me for who I was. Not many have done that…" Aedan said, only for Tanya to offer him her hand.

"Take it," The woman said when she saw his blank stare, "After all, it's formal for the man to offer the lady a dance…"

Aedan laughed as he looked at his kimono, he guess it did sort of look like a dress, before taking the hand and going back to the dance hall. The pair arrived, only for Aedan to groan in annoyance.

"I told Arnold to keep an eye on her, not to take her out dancing!" The Irishman said as he regarded the now dancing pair.

"Shush, it's a formal dance, let them have their fun. Now, the real question is…can you dance as well as you talk?" Tanya said, getting a sheepish look from Aedan as they started swaying their hips in motion to the music…

 _Champions of the Vytal tournament two years in a row? That's an impressive feat…_

 _It is the duties of graduated hunters and huntress's to help train others…_

 _Any good crops this year?_

Aedan and the rest of his team watched as the teams left the building, teams had just been assigned and everyone was still on the high of the hunt. Aedan couldn't help but laugh as they watched them, he remembered when he was like that. A random girl in a hood suddenly lost said hood, it flapped in the wind as it almost landed on the ground in front of Aedan. Almost, being a key word as he grabbed it before it could be tarnished, the girl smiled as he handed it back.

"Nice hood, and its owner?" Tanya asked, a grin forming on her face as she regarded the teen.

"Summer! We got to go!" A dry voice filled the air, the group turned to see a scythe wielder waving at them. The girl turned, nodded and took off. As he watched her go, Aedan couldn't help but laugh…

"What's so funny?" River asked, leaning in closer to her friend.

"Nothing, just good to see innocence running amongst the group…" Aedan said with a grin as he turned to Tanya, "How long we in town for?"

"A few weeks, the headmaster requested that we help train the new batch of recruits." Tanya said with a grin.

"This should be fun…" Aedan's said as he started off, ready to whip these hunters into shape…

 _Raven, I don't always know what's best, but follow your heart…_

 _Wait, she's what?_

 _How's little Yang holding up?_

 _Tell me, General Patrokolos, do we have a problem with each other?_

 _Summers pregnant? Well, I guess now's a good time to visit her…_

Aedan walked into the hospital room, a bouquet in hand. Summer looked at him with sleep in her eyes, she was exhausted and had only stayed up because of his visit. It was still midday outside, the sun shining brightly in through the window as Aedan put said bouquet down.

"Sorry I haven't had a chance to visit, been cleaning up some Grimm in Atlas. Same old, same old, everything going well?" Aedan asked, getting a nod from the woman. She smiled as she held out her hand, Aedan's brow raised in confusion, but he gave it to her anyway. She quickly put it on her swollen belly, she was in the mid stages of pregnancy, and the baby was kicking. Aedan's face broke out into a smile as he felt the soft pat on his hand.

"Aye lass, it'll be strong…" Aedan started, a sudden sound cut him off. He whirled around, grabbing the gun was about to be pressed into his head. The bullet fired off, hitting the window as Aedan maneuvered the gun away from Summer. The samurai quickly slammed his hand into the man's elbow, a crack told him that had succeeded. The gun fell out of his grip, and Aedan slammed his opponent into the ground.

"Who sent you?" Aedan asked, his voice full of rage.

"Go to hell, I'm not going to tell you anything…" The man started, before Aedan suddenly slammed his head into the ground, knocking him out.

"You don't have too…" Aedan said as he turned to face Summer, "Call someone, make sure they come. Something really bad is happening here…"

Summer didn't have time to object as Aedan stormed out, he was almost out of the building when the television in the lobby of the building started up. The samurai stopped dead in his tracks as he saw what was on screen, his team, bound in chains. A man stood in front of them, wearing the white of Atlas. His blond hair shined brilliantly as he face the camera.

"People of Vale, I bring you news," The man said, his voice crisp and clear, "News of a viper in your midst. A so called 'great hero,' a member of team TAAR, the ones who saved Vytal from the evil of the Knights of the Grimm, has hidden amongst you. Bare witness, he is no hero, but a monster cut from the deepest pits of hell."

Aedan just kept staring at the screen in ever increasing anger, his face becoming redder by the second.

"He uses a weapon known as the Murasama, an evil weapon that feeds off the blood of its victims," The man said, his voice filled with rage, "A weapon of pure evil and he uses this weapon _willingly,_ this man uses the weapon despite it's evil. This man…this…beast must be purged from your lives."

The people in the lobby started to stare at Aedan and at the katana at his hip, the legend of the Murasama was well known by many. A blade of incredibly strength…and infamy…

"This man is known as Aedan Flint," The man on the TV said in a rage, "Not only that, but bear witness to this…"

The man grabbed Tanya, and ripped off her sleeves, revealing a lot of scar tissue. All were clearly made by a blade, a very sharp one.

"The blade can only be sheathed by the shedding of blood…and this man has shed much blood, he has made you very own guardian suffer for his lust for power," The man said, Aedan's eyes widened at this…he had never hurt her…, "The man is a coward, cutting this great woman to save himself from shedding his own blood to sate the blade."

Aedan could feel the faces of the lobby falling on him, the future bartender stormed out of the building, hoping to get away from the prattling of the general on the screen. His eyes widened in anger as he saw that every screen had been hijacked, everyone was seeing the broadcast.

"This man must be purged from this world, this monster is like a Grimm," The general said, pulling out his own sword, a short Iaito in its sheath. The blade shined like blue crystal in the light, "I, General Patrokolos, will purge this monster from your ranks with my blade, known to some as the Masamune, with this blade I vanquished the Grimm General Nightmare, with this blade, and I will purge Aedan Flint from this world."

Aedan's hands clenched into a fist as he stormed off, he knew exactly where to go to find this upstart prick. He rounded a corner, only to run into a familiar face.

"Ozpin, what are you doing here?" The man asked, his face full of anger.

"I was merely shopping when that broadcast came on, dreadful really," Ozpin said as he took a sip from his coffee mug, "It seems like your blade has finally caught up with you."

"Director of Beacon, still preaching to the choir," Aedan said with a sad smile, "Tell me, how's Goodwitch doing?"

"Very well, though right now she's about to start throwing Atlas out of Beacon halls," Ozpin said, his voice becoming serious, "Aedan…what are you planning on doing?"

"Kill everyone one of the bloody bastards that get in my way, they have my team…my family…the only one I got left." Aedan said as he started off down the street.

"Tell me, after all of this, are you still ready for a rematch?" Ozpin said, a small smile coming to his face.

"Aye, just try to put up a fight this time…" Aedan said as he stormed off, too angry to make any more comments. The samurai passed through the crowd on his way to the airship only to be stopped by a police blockade.

"Aedan Flint, put down your weapon and you will not be harmed." A voice on an air horn cut through the air like a sword through flesh, Aedan snarled as he reached for his sword. That's when a shot rang out, and the man who spoke suddenly went flying. Every eye widened as a man in a trench coat jumped down from the rooftops, a six shooter hung at his hip.

"Don't worry, concussive rounds, he'll wake in agony, but he won't be dead." The man said, the eyes on the pair widened as they got a good look at the man. It was Jesse Stampede, the Hunter of Hunters, on top of that, another figure had snuck up and slammed a huge sword into one of the vehicles, disabling it.

"Tell me, how long do I have to go before you kill that bastard?" The woman said as she leapt back, landing next to Jesse. The eyes widened again, this was Meryl D Wolfwood, not exactly as legendary as Jesse or Aedan, but still well-known enough to warrant fear. That's when a third figure came strolling next to the trio, this one wearing grey and red, had a sword on his back.

"Qrow, what the hell are you doing here lad?" Aedan asked, more than a little concerned.

"Taiyang is protecting Summer, I came out to bust some heads." The scythe wielder said with a grin as he readied his weapon.

"You go on ahead, we'll deal with these guys." Jesse stated, readying himself.

"Thank you, you always were some of my favorite students…" Aedan said as he took off, the sounds of combat following him as he reached the airstrip. The battleship Elysium hung above him, but Aedan's focus was on about half of a battalion in front of him, all harmed with heavy weapons.

"Aedan Flint," The man in commander leathers said as he looked over the samurai, "We have orders to fire on sight."

"You can go to hell." Aedan said, drawing his blade and charging. The commander smiled wolfishly as his men started shooting, lead poured out of the guns like a waterfall, but Aedan kept coming. His was almost untraceable as he dodged the bullets, right until he got the commander. That was when it became clear that he didn't dodge all of the bullets as blood poured from his wounds.

"You were a fool to think that you could dodge all of those…" The commander said, only to pause as Aedan's face suddenly had a grin on it.

"No…You were a fool to think that bullets would stop ME!" Aedan yelled, drawing his blade across the man's chest. Blood sprayed as the man's eyes widened, pretty soon, every man's eyes matched his as Aedan wounds closed in front of their eyes, "Your general didn't mention that the Murasama has a few other abilities, did he? Your blood heals me, now…are you still going to fight?"

The men replied by shooting everything they had at the samurai, who responded by leaping into the fray.

 **On the ship…**

"Sir, the ground forces are reporting extreme losses." A random tech yelled as he looked at the screen.

"Send in the airships, that should stop him." Patrokolos said as he stared at the sky.

"Sir…the airships were already there…he's riding them up." The tech said, earning a scoff of surprise from the general.

"What? Put it on screen?" Patrokolos ordered, the screen in front of him activated to reveal that Aedan was currently jumping from airship to airship, a feat that not even the greatest of hunters could accomplish.

"What…how is he doing that?" A random soldier yelled in fear.

"He's fully embraced the power of his blade," Patrokolos said with an evil grin, "No good man would do that…"

"You're wrong!" A strong female voice cut in, the crowd turned to see Tanya getting to her feet, "Aedan is a good man, and he's only doing this because you pushed him too!"

"Silence wench!" The general yelled as he turned back to the screen, "First Mate?"

"Yes sir?" The first mate, a normal young man answered.

"Pull back all soldiers, leave the door to the bridge unobstructed." Patrokolos ordered.

"But…sir?" The soldier stammered.

"Right now, the only person who can stand up to that man is me…clear the deck of everyone except the rest of team TAAR, let them see the monster that is their friend." Patrokolos ordered, the soldier saluting and doing as his general said. At this time Aedan was barreling through the ship, no one got in his way. His eyes seemed like someone had spilled red paint into a crystal ball, his body was covered in red, and his teeth were grinding themselves to dust.

The samurai burst onto the main deck, seeing that his opponent was ready for him.

"Come Aedan," Patrokolos said as he drew his own blade, "Allow me to put you down like the dog that you are."

Aedan yelled a war cry as he surged forward, trying to cut his blade across the man who caused him so much pain. The general laughed as he blocked the blow, his blade's magic making it especially easy to do, and launched an attack of his own. The Irishman blocked, the blow making his limbs ache in pain as he went under and tried for another slash. The general scoffed at the blow, blocking it and slamming his blade into Aedan's leg.

The cut steamed as the blade worked its magic, Aedan could feel it sucking away at this strength as he kicked the general. The blade flew out of his leg as Aedan launched another kick at the general, this one barely registering as the blow hit. Patrokolos laughed as he slammed his own fist into the samurai, launching him backwards.

"Do you really think that you can beat me?" The general said as Aedan scrambled to his feet, "You're evil, a man who would sacrifice his principles for power, use a cursed blade willingly to further his own gains."

"Is that what you told your sister?" Aedan said, his voice deep and hungry. Patrokolos eyes widened in anger as he surged forward, scratching the samurai's chest. It wasn't a deep cut, but Aedan's eyes widened as he felt it.

"…You know nothing, burn in hell you bastard…" The general said, slamming his sword back into its sheath. Suddenly, crystals erupted from Aedan's chest, the samurai stared at the wounds, before falling over.

"Aedan!" Tanya's shrill scream sounded across the room, the future bartender slowly got to his feet. His hand on his blade tightening, "Aedan, listen to me, you don't need the sword."

Both Aedan and Patrokolos stopped and started at her remark, both in slight shock.

"Aedan, his blade can only harm you because of the swords bloodlust, sheath it…please…" The leader of team TAAR begged, Aedan looked at her for a second, before staring at the general.

"Don't fool yourself, witch, he's a monster, monsters don't sheath their weapons." Patrokolos said with certainty, only for the sound of sliding steel to cut him off. The great general turned to see that Aedan had indeed sheathed his sword, the blood lust gone from his eyes.

"A monster? Only a monster would look upon an innocent face, and only see the corruption caused by others." Aedan said as he drew his blade again as it was now free of the bloodlust.

"You…you will die!" The general yelled, rushing forward again, ready to slash Aedan in twain. The samurai merely waited, not flinching as the man grew ever closer. Finally, the young man raised his sword for a downward slash to end the future bartender, Aedan raised his hand and caught the blade. The eyes of the general widened at this, especially as Aedan lowered the weapon to touch his own.

"We who use weapons for their power are a waste of life, skill with a weapon is far more important, but if the man who uses the weapon with power not for himself, but for others, is the greatest and most pure of men. My master taught me that," Aedan said in a quiet voice, "We are both waste of life at first glance, but you use your sword for power, I use mine…so that no one else has to waste their life with it."

"You're lying!" Patrokolos yelled, trying to rip his blade out of the deadlock.

"No, you're the liar, to yourself," Aedan said as he raised his hand in the air, "My master always told me that to destroy a blade like this, you needed to first find it's soulmate…and destroy it as well."

The general screamed as Aedan slammed his open palm on the blades, a bright light overtook the room. Tanya averted her eyes, but the screams of Patrokolos echoed in the room. The light died down, leaving Aedan with nothing but two handles, and a bunch of broken shards. The great general…was nowhere to be seen, but in his hand, Aedan held the two handles. The samurai smirked, before pulling out a small flask, downing it, and burning them to cinders.

"What?" Tanya asked in confusion.

"It's nothing, come…we've got some explaining to do…" Aedan said with a grin as he walked over and untied the three of his family.

 _(Tanya's voice)Aedan Flint never laid a hand on me…these scars…I did them to myself…the only reason I'm still here is because of that man…_

 _So…I've got a new blade, let's try it out…_

 _Been a few years, killed a God Hand level Grimm, killed a random spirit of a hunter, some random bunch of White Fang extremist shouldn't be too hard…_

 _Tanya! (Gunshot)_

Aedan held the love of his life in his hands as she bled out, his eyes were red from the tears.

"Aedan, please…don't cry…" The woman in his arms begged, lifting her arms up weakly to wipe them off.

"Tanya…I'm so sorry…I wasn't fast enough…" Aedan said, begging forgiveness.

"Shut up, you stupid fool," Tanya said, weakly cupping his cheek, "There's something I wanted to tell you…"

"Tanya…" Aedan said, grabbing her hand as it started to fall.

"Aedan…I should have told you this years ago, but the reason I became the guardian? It was because they wanted you to be…for you to accept the responsibilities of the nation…I knew that it would have broken you, maybe more than me," Tanya whispered, pulling Aedan closer, "I thought I was doing it for you…then I realized that I was doing it for more than just friendship…Aedan…please don't leave me again…"

"Tanya, I…I should have said this a long time ago…I love you so much," Aedan said, pulling her head to his chest. That was when he heard her stop breathing, "Tanya…Tanya…TANYA!"

 _Both Beacon and Atlas continue to deny that the mysterious man known as Red the Ripper is a Hunter…_

 _A body count of twenty people in the wake of the death of the warrior Tanya, a world in mourning is also in a word of fear…_

 _Ozpin…You can't stop me…none of you on this damn secret society can…I will have blood…_

 _(Insert little girl voice) Mommy?_

Aedan looked at his hands, both of which were covered in blood. He was at a fancy mansion, the location of the last surviving member of the group that killed his love. This time…he couldn't do it…this woman…she regretted what she had done…and she had a family at stake. That little girl…that precious snake faunas…what had he become?

 _Custody of Sarah "Sally" Titanas is hereby granted to Aedan Flint…_

 _A nice bar…I'll take it…_

 _How the hell did you manage to take on a bunch of White Fang members and a katana wielding leader without a weapon?_

 _(Sally's voice) I hate you, Aedan Flint, I don't ever want to see you again (door slam shut)_

Aedan cleaned up his bar, four years…four years since he stopped himself from being a monster, four years since he had bought this bar, four years since he had become an alcoholic, two months since his adopted daughter stormed out, ready for Beacon. The years had not been kind to Aedan, his hair hung at the sides of his head in a greasy fashion, his beard was greasy and untrimmed, his eyes looked more dead than alive.

The man put the last of the glasses up, the night was about to start…and he had the place cleaned and ready. The bell on his door rang to indicate that someone had entered, Aedan's back was too the door.

"What'll it be?" Aedan said, putting on his mask of good cheer.

"An acceptance of an apology." The voice that came from his back made him drop the glass. He whirled around to face his customer.

"Sally? The hell are you doing here?" Aedan said incredibly, his face full of shock.

"Aedan I…I'm sorry." Sally said, putting a pack on the ground.

"For what? Nothing you said was wrong." Aedan said in a matter of factly manner.

"…yes it was, I thought I resented you for what you were, then…I made a friend," Sally said, leaning over the bar, "He…talked to me, made me realize what I was missing. Aedan…I always thought that you were a fool, a dumb idiot who didn't care anymore. It never hit me that my semblance was the only reason you were alive…"

"Sally…" Aedan started, only for her to cut her off.

"No…I always could tell when the depression was getting to you, when you felt like putting that gun under the bar to your temple, and I always stayed close…I left because I thought I didn't care…then my friend told me about his father…about how he regretted not being able to save him from himself," Sally said, leaning back in her chair, "He reminded me of how much I care about you…now here I am, intending to keep this business afloat."

"Sally, no…you need a bloody education…" Aedan said weakly, knowing that he would never convince her.

"Don't try to stop me, you know you can't." Sally said, leaping over the bar.

"Well…at least now I've got a new goal in life…" Aedan said, a smile on his lips.

"What's that?" The younger woman asked.

"Now…I've got to find a way to kick this alcoholism in the ass." Aedan said, grabbing the girl in a bear hug.

 _Yang Xiao Long? Good name…tell you what, if I see anything, I'll talk to you…_

 _Her mother…is an interesting woman…_

 _Going out! Hitting the airport for our package!_

Aedan strolled out of the port with a smile on his face, the sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and the sky was clear of all that bad energy. To Aedan, this was a good day to be alive, a good day to remember the good times of life. However, he was so enamored in his world, that he didn't notice the teen in red in front of him.

"Oh, excuse me." The teen said as Aedan ran into him, dropping his package.

"Please, the fault was my own." Aedan said, dusting himself off. The teen grabbed the package that Aedan had dropped.

"You dropped this sir," The teen said with a grin and a slightly psychotic grin, "Hey…if you don't mind? Where is Fate academy?"

"Fate? You a hunter in training?" Aedan asked, grinning as he looked the boy over. It was nice to see such a good lad going into hunter training.

"Well, yes and no, I'm still in weapons school, I'm from Vale, a little town outside of the big city. Second year, but I'm interested in Fate and wanted to check it out." The teen said as he put his hands behind his head.

"Why not apply to Beacon? Its closer and it's considered to be better." Aedan said as the pair started off.

"If I ever get into Beacon, I'll kiss a snake," The teen said with a smile, "Besides, I probably wouldn't do so well there."

"Ah, don't get your hopes down lad, anyway, Fate academy is a little past me pub. I'll show you the way, as long as you don't mind a bit of legwork." Aedan said, getting a slightly warning stare.

"This isn't a plot to get me in an alley so you can try something is it? Because I really don't want to have to kill someone." The teen asked, getting a good laugh from Aedan.

"I believe you laddie, come along, I won't take you down any alley ways," The old samurai said as he and the teen went down the streets, "Hey, you got a name?"

"Rick Grimmes, you?" Rick answered, yawning as he took in the city.

"Aedan Flint, say…you're a hunter in training, you got a weapon?" The bartender asked, getting happy bark from Rick.

"Sure do, right here." Rick said, pulling out his ax and handing it to Aedan to examine. The samurai turned it in his hands before a strange smell hit his nostrils.

"Moonshine? Forged with it?" Aedan asked, getting a laugh from Rick.

"You got a good nose, yep." Rick said before stopping dead in his tracks, Aedan traced what his eyes were looking, and grimaced. It was a faunas, she was being accosted by a group of humans. She had brown eyes slitted eyes, she was a snake faunas.

"Great, hey…" Aedan started, only to see that Rick had made a beeline for the group. The samurai groaned as he saw the kid approach, his first day in the city, and he was going to be beaten up by some random guys.

"Hey," Rick yelled, getting the groups attention, "She's not interested."

"Buzz off," The leader of the gang said, pulling out a butterfly knife and opening it, "Or you going to get cut."

"Really?" Rick asked, bursting out laughing, "You're going to threaten me with that?"

"How about I cut your balls off, what then?" The leader said, approaching the teen and holding the knife up threateningly.

"Buddy that ain't a knife," Rick said, reaching back and pulling out his bowie knife, "Now that's a knife."

The gangster prettily leapt back, the blade was huge compared to his.

"Now, we've got a few ways this goes down," Rick said, engrossing his audience, "We can duke it out with our respective blades, I think you know how that will end, you can walk away, leaving nothing more than an injured pride, or you can rush me with your guys, get all of them gutted, and you leave in a closed casket funereal. Any takers?"

The gang leader bumbled, that's when a sharp crack filled the air. The group turned to see that Aedan had one of the gang members arms in his hands, and that said arm was now broken. The gun in the man's grasp fell, landing on the ground with a thud.

"Hope you don't mind me jumping in, been a long time since I got a chance to do this." Aedan said, before letting the guy go. The rest of the gang took off.

"Well, that's wraps up that…" Rick said, turning to see that the faunas had disappeared, "Wow, not even a thank you."

"You did good lad, you remind me of myself when I was your age," Aedan said, clasping the teen on the shoulder, "Tell you what, you visit again, look for my bar. We'll have a pint, if you have some friends, bring them as well."

"Aedan, I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship." Rick said with a laugh…

 **So…due to me thinking a lot, and because I just can't stop…MNF is off hiatus. I know, I know, I'm an idiot, but, if you like this story, leave a review, or leave a follow or fave. Until next time, see you soon.**


	4. Glorious Combat!

**Insert Ring of Fire Def Leppard**

"Now entering the ring," Port's voice boomed over the stadium, the crowd screaming with anticipation as the fighters readied themselves. Team RWBY and JNPR sat next to each other, cheering, this was a fight that they had been wanting to see, a fight between two teams who they had known and trusted for a long time. Now, it was time for them to duke it out, "Team's ROSA and EMBR!"

The two teams stared each other down as the slot machine broke out, randomizing the environment. Both team leaders stared at the other, trying to plan for what came next.

"EMBR, you know the plan," Emily whispered, never taking her eyes off of Rick, "Ben…you know what to do."

"That I do, you just make sure to handle the rest." Ben said with a grin, reading himself.

"If you don't get him out with one strike, keep him busy, we'll handle the rest." Emily said with a confident grin as she started down the other team. The other team was mumbling as well, planning their next move.

"What's the plan?" Owen asked, getting a laugh from Rick.

"Be flexible, that's all I can say…they'll try to break us up, be ready for that. Other than that…stay in the game, take them out, simply enough." The psychopath said with a grin, only to get a scoff from Shaun.

"That's the plan? Really?" The wolf faunas said, his eyes furrowed.

"Yes, it is…" Rick started before the bell cut him off, the slots had stopped. One half of the arena turned into a rocky mountain side, the other…a forest setting. Perfect for faster opponents…and arrow users, Alex smiled as he readied his bow. The crowd grew silent as the countdown began, the anticipation even made hyperactive people like Ruby and Nora quiet down. All eyes were on the two teams…and the bell went off.

Team ROSA readied themselves for combat, only to be surprised when Ben bull rushed Rick, grabbing and launching both of them towards the rocks. ROSA didn't have time to respond as the rest of EMBR was upon them, Emily took on Owen, Richard clashing his blades with Shaun, and Micca and Alex both broke off towards the forest.

"What are they doing?" Ruby asked as she saw the tactics, slightly confused.

"They're separating Rick from the pack, without his leadership, they can't function as a team." Weiss whispered, putting her hand on Ruby's.

"Also, Rick is the best close range fighter they have, if they can get him out of the fight, the rest of ROSA has less chance of winning," Blake piped in, "Risky, but it will work if it plays out."

"Somehow, I don't think it's working…" Yang whispered, watching what was happening with Rick and Ben. The psychopath suddenly fell on his back, flipping the assassin over him. Ben landed on his feet, Rick leaped to his. The psycho cracked his neck as he pulled out his ax and bowie knife, ready for the fight.

"Nice plan, too bad for you…I'm used to that kind of trick." Rick said with a grin, he was thoroughly enjoying himself at this point.

"Well, had to try…tell me, you ready for a beat down?" Ben said as he also readied himself.

"I think you're looking in a mirror." Rick said as he charged forward, clashing his weapon with Bens.

"Good plan," Pyrrha piped in, making everyone turn towards her, "Not only did they separate Rick from his team, they also picked their opponents wisely."

"What makes you say that?" Ren asked, only for Pyrrha to point at Shaun and Ricard. The mustached man was currently dodging the bigger teen's claws, his speed advantage obvious over the wolf. The monk quickly dodged and followed up with a slash at the faunas' haunch.

"Come on, do you really want your last day here to be corrupted by defeat?" Richard yelled, making Shaun snarl at him. The wolf followed up with a hard slash at the monks legs, which he barely dodged.

"Going to rip you into pieces…" Shaun growled as he tried for another slash.

"This is my last resort!" Richard sang out, earning a laugh from the crowd. The two continued to duke it out as Owen and Emily fought not too far away from them, the noise carrying across the battlefield. Owen kept his weapon in chain form to keep the dagger wielder at bay, she smiled as she blocked strike after strike.

"Going to have to try harder than that!" Emily yelled as she surged forward, getting past the chain. The rookie grinned as she closed the gap, she suddenly heard the chain being pulled taunt. The girl hardly managed to jump over the blade as it came around, the teen in front of her grabbing it.

"Do I now?" He said with a grin on his face as he charged forward, locking blades with the other fighter.

"That's going to be a short fight," Yang said with a grin, before looking over at the forest, "Wonder what's going on with Alex and Micca?"

At that point, a few explosions could be seen in said forest as Alex fired arrows at Micca, who nimble dodged said arrows. The snake nimbly moved closer, forcing the fox to jump back. He grinned as he kept firing arrows, each on missing. Soon, Micca was close again, at that point, Alex decided a change in scenery was required. He leapt to the trees and started leaping across, shooting arrows as he kept leaping.

The snake kept smiling as she kept dodging, the arrows never seemed to be able to get a good handle on her. Soon, Alex leapt to the ground and whirled around to get a good shot on Micca, she deflected the arrow with her ax and followed up with a slash at his chest. The blow sent him across the opening in the forest, Micca smiled as she readied herself to finish him off.

Outside, the crowd gasped as they saw Alex's aura go down into dangerous levels.

"What? How did?" Weiss stuttered out, confused until a hand fell on her shoulder. She turned her head to regard Willow, she hadn't noticed her there before.

"Alex has a small amount of aura, much lower than the average hunter," Willow said as she pointed at the screen, "It only takes a few good hits to get him out of a fight."

"Then…how did he get this far?" Blake asked, thoroughly confused.

"Haven't you seen his arrows?" Ruby asked, getting everyone attention, "He might not be able to take on his opponents head on, but he's got plenty of tricks up his sleeve."

"Hopefully more than Owen does, look." Ren said, getting everyone's attention back on the fight. Currently, Owen was getting his ass kicked, Emily was knocking him around like a ragdoll. She was currently using her semblance to knock him around, keeping him from getting solid footing. The rookie looked around desperately, his eyes widening as he tried one last ditch attack.

He threw his chain out in a wide arc, ready to try and hit the leader of EMBR, this time, however, she just smiled. As the chain came around, she didn't dodge. She grabbed it, Owens eyes widened as he realized what was about to happen.

"Get over here!" Emily yelled, ripping him forward, right before she uppercut him into the air, before he had time to land, she jumped into the air and slammed threw him down, creating a crater.

"Really? My own weapon?" The teen coughed out, before crawling off the arena.

"And Owen is down!" Oobleck cried out, his excitement clearly on display.

"And it looks like Shaun is getting angry, trust me folks, this is one wolf you don't want to meet under the light of the full moon." Port commentated, the audience watching with awe as Shaun suddenly grew fur.

"Ah…crap baskets," Richard groaned as the now transformed, silver haired Beowolf stood before him. Emily readied her weapon, ready to help her teammate.

"Stay back! I've got this." The monk said, a grin forming on his lips. The creature roared as it surged forward, slashing again and again. Richard simply kept dodging, but he didn't have time to dodge the shoulder tackle. The blow knocked him on his back, leaving him wide open.

"Richard!" Velvet's cry could be heard from the stands, but that's when Richards grin got even bigger.

"Accelerate…level one!" Richard yelled, prompting the shocked eyes of Shaun to realize the trap. Quicker than most eyes could track, Richard slashed out with his twin blade, hitting and pushing the wolf back? He followed up by leaping up and kicking Shaun in the teeth, the wolfs head snapped to the left. Richard quickly took his weapon apart, slashing the beast three time across the stomach, before finishing by stabbing his blades into the ground, and using them as leverage to kick Shaun in the face.

The beast fell, his form shifting back to normal. The teen groaned as he got up and limped his way out, his face down.

"And there goes Shaun, a stunning display by Richard Necro." Ports voice boomed, making Rick's head snap to the screen.

"Ah hell," Rich groaned, narrowly dodging another attack from Ben, "Sorry, but I'm afraid I must cut this short."

"Yeah, that's not going to happen." Ben said, swinging his weapon around. Rick, feeling done with this charade, put his ax out, wrapping the whip around the shaft. The ninja's eyes widened as he realized Rick's plan, Ben mentally kicked himself for not thinking about this. The psychopath grabbed the chain, and with a grunt of effort, swung Ben around, slamming him outside the boundaries.

"First rule of Rick, keep an eye on the environment." Rick yelled before rushing to the others, screaming his head off.

"Idiot." Ben laughed out, sitting down to watch the rest of the match.

 **End song, insert back to the Stone Age by KISS…**

Richard and Emily heads snapped to regard Rick as he leapt off the mountain, ready for a fight. A few strikes against Richard kept the monk from speeding up, as well as keeping said teen in between Rick and Emily. The leader groaned as Rick slammed his kneecap into Richards's skull, knocking him back a few steps. Richard, rather than simply charge back, used his momentum to his advantage, rolling backwards, opening Rick up for Emily.

She smiled as she fired a concussive blast at the psycho, knocking him back. Richard charged in, using the fact that Rick was off balance to his advantage, and performed a few slashes to Rick's torso. The psycho, taking this in a stride, went to the ground and tried to sweep the monks legs. Richard merely dodged and attempted to stab Rick on the ground, the psychopath rolled out of the way…only to have Emily's foot slam into his chest.

There he was, under her foot, no way to run, and no way to escape.

"Guess this makes checkmate…" The leader said, a grin on her face. That's when Rick started laughing, prompting the audience to fall silent.

"You've forgotten one of the first rules of combat, always keep an eye on your scroll, and know when to switch to a more…defensive strategy," Rick said with a grin, looking at the screen. Richard quickly glanced up…and almost swore. An arrow landed right next to the trio, beeping as it readied itself, "Boom."

The arrow blew up, sending the trio flying. They landed in a heap, their auras all in the red. Alex slowly strolled on stage, not sure of victory. As he looked at the board, he smiled.

"It seems like Rick and Alex ended the match with a bang!" Port yelled, the crowd bursting into applause as Richard and Emily stared at the fox in confusion.

"But…Micca had you!" Emily yelled, thoroughly confused.

"Not really…" Alex said, his face splitting into a grin.

 **Flashback…**

Micca had him on the ropes, she had landed one hit and his aura was almost gone. The snake readied to end this fight…only to stop as she saw Alex's smile.

"You know what metal's good at?" The fox said, prompting Micca to look around. She realized that she was surrounded by arrows, that's when the faunas realized the trap that had been laid, and that she had walked right into it, "Conducting electricity."

Micca didn't even have time to speak before Alex fired a blue fletched arrow, electricity bursting out. The arrows acted like a lightning rod, each creating a lighting field that caught the snake in it. She felt her muscles clench, and she felt her aura fall. She smiled internally, Micca had to admit…this bastard was clever.

 **Present…**

Emily stared speechless at the archer as Richard helped Rick to his feet, the psycho smiled as he readied himself to start walking. However, suddenly his head erupted in a spasm of pain, he almost fell down, but Richard grabbed him.

"Hey, you OK?" The monk asked, only for Rick to nod.

"I'm fine, hey…I just got blown up, and a few side effect should be expected." Rick said as he started off, still cradling his head. He quickly walked out of the arena, he had something he needed to do before it was too late. The rest of EMBR got together and walked out of the arena as well, ready for the next fight. Rick ran to the docks of the arena, were Shaun was waiting for his ship.

"Leaving without saying goodbye?" Rick said with a grin, making the wolf jump. The faunas turned around with a sad smile.

"You know how bad I am at goodbyes…still, nice of you to come by." Shaun said, keeping his eyes open for the airship.

"Nothing I can say to change your mind?" The psycho asked, getting a laugh from the wolf.

"Not really, I miss home…I thought that I could change people's minds about faunas, but I'm just one man. It's too big here." Shaun said, his eyes growing even sadder.

"Hey, being a Hunter isn't for everyone," Rick said right as the airship came in, "Make sure to say hi to Ash for me."

"I will," Shaun said as he stuck out his hand, Rick taking it in a good hard shake, "See you around."

"Same here." Rick said with a grin, only to be cut off by the intercom.

"Teams RWBY and ABRN come to the arena." Oobleck's voice rang out, making Rick jump.

"Hey, got to go…need to support our friends, see you around." Rick said, taking off, leaving Shaun to pack his bags. The wolf chuckled as he boarded the ship, he couldn't tell them the real reason he was leaving…no matter how much he wanted too.

 **At the arena…**

Rick burst into the arena as the match countdown started, the psycho hustled over to the seat that team's JNPR, EMBR, and the remaining members of ROSA stood. He sat down next to Micca, who put her arms around him.

"Nice to see who wears the pants in the relationship." Willow said in a joking manner, earning a laugh from Rick.

"At least I won my match," Rick said as he looked over at team LWTJ's leader, who was nursing his arm, "Why did you try and block Beowulf's sword?"

"I thought I had it," Leo said with a sad grin, "How was I supposed to know it weighed half a ton."

"You could have just looked at," Beowulf said, surprising the teams, they turned to regard team BLCP who was sitting right behind them, "You could have just looked at the corrosion."

"You know, it's kind of disturbing how silent you can be." Jaune said with a grin, noticing how the Viking took up two chairs.

"Four years of hunter training, but…right now, we've got a match to watch." Beowulf said as the timer neared zero.

"Bets?" Ben yelled out, his excitement clear on his face.

"None of us are that stupid." Emily said with a giggle, earning a laugh from the group. The buzzer cut them off, signaling the start of the match.

 **Meanwhile, in Vale…**

Shaun walked the streets, heading towards the train station. He was ready to head out, but the wolf stopped as he sniffed the air. A sad smile came to his lips as he walked into an alleyway, only for the end to be cut off by White Fang. The wolf sighed as he turned to face the other side, only to come face to face with four faces, one he knew, the others he heard through their reputation.

"Wun, a pleasant surprise, and I see you brought friends," Shaun said as he regarded the others, "Maul, Cruril, Caine, a pleasure."

"And you're Shaun Peg, the wolf of team ROSA," Maul said as he took a few steps forward, flashing his teeth, "You've turned against your own kind, a pity."

"That's funny," Shaun replied, baring his fangs, "Coming from a man who killed his own adoptive family, most of whom had never fought in their lives."

Mauls face twisted at that statement, his snarl was audible to everyone around. Wun giggled at the sight, it was clear that she didn't care too much for the tiger. Maul took a few steps forward, raising his hand. The White Fang raised their weapons, the frown on the tigers face was evident.

"You've gathered a lot of intel about the White Fang, time for you to pay for your betrayal of your own kind." The tiger said, his voice a growl.

"Go to hell." Shaun replied, roaring as he leaped backwards into the normal soldiers. They didn't even have time to scream as Shaun raked his claws across their chest, one of them tried to fire a pistol, but the wolf just ripped it out of the poor man's hand. A quick pistol whip knocked the frightened man out, soon, the soldiers backed up from the chaos, giving Shaun some breathing room.

That's when he heard a twang fill the air, a sharp pain filled his shoulder. The wolf turned to see that a bolt was sticking out of his shoulder, Wun's grinning face was clear.

"That's about twenty CC's of tranquilizer, should slow you down." The snake said, getting a snarl from the wolf.

"Nice to see you treating me like an animal, hypocrite." Shaun said as Maul rushed in and planted a fist to his jaw, Wun stopped in her tracks…she wasn't…a hypocrite, she just needed to make a tactical choice to defeat an opponent.

"Shut up," Maul said as he drew his blades, "You die today, for your crimes against your own kind."

"You should have talked to that silent girl on the train, she saw a little bit of it," Shaun said, his mouth elongating into a snout, "The wolf is out…"

Maul yelped as Shaun swiped at him again, this time…the claw was much larger. Shaun stood to his full, new height, gone was the teenager who was simply a wolf faunas, in his place…stood a silver Beowolf, and it looked pissed. The beast looked back at the soldiers, who looked scared out of their minds before looking back at Maul.

The beast roared as he charged forwards, slamming its shoulder into the faunas. Maul yelled as he surged back, but before the wolf could charge into to finish the job, a war cry filled the air. Shaun turned around to get a blade across his chest, Cruril had joined the fight. The assassin jumped out of the way of a blow, before rushing in and trying for another stab.

This time, Shaun leaped back, his teeth shining in the blades light. Maul climbed to his feet, a death stare in his eyes. One of his weapons blades started sparking, an aura of electricity falling off of it. The wolfs eyes widened as he leaned back to avoid the first strike, Cruril followed by rushing forward. His weapons barrels opened as he got closer, explosive rounds showed Shaun as he got closer.

The wolf covered its face, only for the assassin to get close and leap into the air, slamming his weapons into Shaun's head, knocking it from left to right. A crack of bone could be heard, only to be interrupted as Maul rushed in. Shaun couldn't defend himself as the tiger wracked his energized blade across his torso, sending him flying.

He landed hard, flipping over and over before he came to a stop at the other end of the alley. His form shifted back, his eyes widening as the pain took over. The wolf didn't even have enough time to curse as his assailants rushed forward, kicking him over and over again. Wun covered her mouth as she watched, the two weren't merciful as the laid into the wolf.

"Stop it!" She yelled, making the two pause. Maul whirled around, his face a mask of rage. His mouth opened to comment, only for a blow to his back to send him a few steps forward. Shaun roared as he surged out of the alley, leaving the people standing in shock. Maul suddenly stormed over to Wun, grabbing her hair.

"Why did you distract me? You've just comprised the entire mission, if that teen gets to the police…" The tiger started before a hand grabbed him, he whirled around to face the smooth, mask of the assassin.

"Calm down, he won't last long…we got carried away, Maul." The Cruril said, his voice low and dark.

"He deserved…" Maul started before Caine cut him off.

"A quick death, this mission was to kill him as quickly as possible, without witnesses. Your little escapade could have cost us…" The sniper said calmly, Maul sputtered in rage, before realizing that he couldn't say anything to cover up his mistake.

"Don't interrupt me again." Maul said in a threatening voice to Wun, but she really didn't hear it. All she could see was that look of pain on his face and the wolf's words…hypocrite…

 **At Shaun current location…**

The wolf limped his way along the pier, it was strangely bare for this time of day. The wolf guessed that everyone was watching the festival…team RWBY was probably still fighting right. Shaun smiled through his broken mouth, he missed it after all. He stopped himself at one of the dock fences to the sea, pulling out his scroll. RWBY's match was pulled up, right at the end as the opposing team was beat down.

"Team RWBY wins!" Was what Shaun heard as he dropped his scroll, his mouth still smiling.

"I'm…sorry," Shaun said as he pulled out a photo of Owen, "Sorry…I never got the chance to…"

That was all he said, before he fell into the cool water, letting its embrace take him into the next life…


	5. New Faces, New Challanges, New Foes

"Now _that_ was a good fight," Rick said as he and Micca walked with team RWBY out of the arena, "Just the right thing to pull me out of depression."

"So…Shaun left then?" Weiss asked, slightly disappointed.

"What's that Heiress? A little bit of attraction I hear?" Rick joked with a smile, earning a glare from both Ruby and Weiss.

"Considering that he was into men, no…he was probably the only sane one in your team." The Schnee replied, earning a choking sound from Rick.

"Wait…you knew about that? It's not like he talked about it or gave many signs." The psycho said, clearly shocked.

"Yeah, we talked about it after the Breach, we were being debriefed and he mentioned it. Said he didn't think it was a big deal." Blake responded, still groaning from the stiffness in her shoulders.

"Huh…I'll take your word for it." Rick said as they walked on.

"On the other side of things," Micca giggled, "I never congratulated you guys, and you won your first tournament match."

"WE DID IT!" Ruby said as she jumped into the air, making Rick and Micca jump.

"That was unexpected, though not unappreciated." Micca muttered.

"Is anyone else starving?" Ruby said as she landed back, making Rick burst out laughing.

"I…worked up an appetite…" Blake muttered right before her stomach growled, loud enough to be an Ursa roaring.

"Gee…if only there was somewhere on campus to get food around here," Weiss said as she gestured around to the festival, "Oh wait…"

"It's OK Weiss, I forget about the fairgrounds too." Ruby said, putting a hand on the heiress's shoulder, prompting red to rise to her cheeks.

"I was being facetious." Weiss said, covering up her embarrassment.

"Well if you were hungry why didn't you just say so?!" Ruby yelled, earning another laugh from the psycho.

"Come on, I've got just the place." Yang said, leading the way. The group started moving, only for Weiss's scroll to start going off. Rick leaned over to see who was calling.

"You gonna take that?" The psycho asked, only to get a scoff from the heiress as she stormed off. Rick shrugged as he followed, he certainly knew familial troubles when he saw them.

"Hey," A familiar voice rang out, making the group jump. They turned around to see Emerald holding Ruby's wallet, "Might be hard to eat without this."

"Might be hard to eat without us as well." Richard's voice boomed as he walked towards the group, Ben's eyes following Emerald's every step.

"Good to see you Ruby." Emerald said as she handed the wallet back, ignoring the loud monk.

"Thanks Emerald, guess I dropped it," Ruby replied before frowning, "Girl pockets are the worst."

"What's up Em?" Yang asked as she stepped up and waved.

"Just left the stadium after watching your amazing fight," Emerald said with a smile, "You guys were awesome."

Ruby started gushing as the rest of the group formed up, with Ben standing back a little. His hand's clenching as he watched the scene play out, Richard noticed but didn't say anything.

"I heard your team progressed into the next round." Blake said as she jumped into the conversation.

"You know, I feel like we never see them." Weiss interjected.

"It's like they're ghost." Rick joked, earning a loving punch from Micca.

"How'd they do in the fight?" Yang asked.

"Really well." Emerald said with a grin.

"Wonder if I'll get a chance to meet them in combat." Richard joked.

"That's great…why don't we all go out and get some victory food together?" Ruby suggested, earning a laugh from the monk.

"I'd say it'd be better to refer to it as survival food." Richard said with a grin.

"Oh…that's so nice of you," Emerald replied, "But all my teammates are all kind of…introverted."

The group turned to observe Mercury sniffing a boot.

"Really socially awkward." She added, before a voice cut through the air.

"How about you quit sniffing and buy the damn boot." Mary's voice cut through the air as she passed Mercury, not giving Rick and the gang a second glance. She shoved her way past the grey haired teen, laughing all the way. Mercury would have made a comment, but he felt the cold stare of Rick and remembered the threat that he made…and he was fairly sure Rick would do it.

"So…yeah, it looks like me and Merc are going to be moving on into the doubles round," Emerald said, her face split into a grin, "How about you guys?"

The rest of the group kept talking, but Rick suddenly grabbed his head in pain.

"Hey, you OK?" Micca said, grabbing Rick's shoulder.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine." The psycho muttered as he raised his head, looking at Emerald…and wondering how easy it would be to snap that thin, little, neck.

 _Destroy the competition…_ A voice in his head rang.

"Hey, what about you Rick?" Ruby asked, prompting Rick to shake off those thoughts.

"Huh?" The psycho asked, prompting Ruby to giggle.

"I asked who you are going to bring with you into the next round." Ruby asked, prompting Ben to lean forward to step in.

"Hell if I know, I'm just thinking about getting some food." The psycho answered, leaving Ben to sigh in relief.

"Well if we meet further down the road, don't expect us to go easy on ya." Emerald said with a giggle.

"Wouldn't have it any other way…" Yang said, before Rick jumped in.

"When I stand victorious, I promise I won't eat your remains." Rick said in his usual, joking manner. The group laughed as Emerald walked away to Mercury, she could feel the eyes of Ben in the back of her skull as she walked.

"So how's the new 'friends?" Mercury asked with a snarky grin.

"I hate them." The green haired thief said.

"Orders are orders." Mercury responded.

"How can they be so happy…all…the…time?" Emerald asked, her voice full of anger.

"Did you at least get what we wanted?" The sly teen replied back.

"It's the heiress and the bimbo." The thief responded.

"Alright, at least know we know who we're working with, oh…by the way, Blud wants to talk." Mercury said.

"Tell Cinder, that person's a creep, can't believe the White Fang assigned them to help us with Rick." Emerald said, getting a chuckle out of Mercury.

"For once, I agree with you." The kick fighter said as they walked on, not noticing the tall man behind them, not noticing the faint smell of blood in the air.

 **Back at RWBY…**

The group sat down at a booth with and old man, whom Rick was convinced was the set of three identical twins, a clone, a demon, or just a really well traveled guy.

"I'll take a bowl of the regular." Yang requested, a bowl bigger than her head full of Raman was placed right in front of her.

"I'll take the same." Ruby responded, prompting a similar bowl be placed down in front of her.

"Do you have anything with a low salt?" Weiss asked…only to get a similar bowl. Blake just nodded to the man, who nodded back and suddenly shot back, bringing out a bowl of fish.

"Mierda!" Rick yelped, almost falling back in his chair. A hand caught him and set him back up.

"You OK?" A slightly raspy voice said, the group turned to regard what might have been the oddest team they had ever seen. The one who had caught Rick was average height, wore armor, but apart from that…he couldn't have been more different. His face was covered in white makeup, bat wings were clearly visible off of his back. His companions were just as strange looking, the one to the right of the man with the wings wore a red coat and blue jeans, his right eye had an eyepatch over it and his hand's had a pair of black gloves over them.

The teen next to him wore a mask, it covered his entire face, with a caged mouth on front. The teen next to him was odd, but only because she wasn't dressed in outlandish fashion. She wore a simple outfit, a black and red t-shirt over a set of jeans.

"Uh…fine, thanks," Rick said as he righted himself.

"No problem, hey…aren't you the leader of team ROSA?" The man asked suddenly.

"Yeah, what of it?" Rick said, his voice casual.

"We caught your match, you did well." The man in the mask said, leaning over.

"…Wait, I know you, you're team MDEL." Richard burst out, making the entire table jump.

"You'd be right," The woman said, grabbing the man with wings by the shoulder, "This is Dubh Simmons."

"How you doing?" The man known as Dubh said with a grin. The woman smiled as she pointed at the man in the mask.

"That's Dave Mustang," She said before pointing at the man in red, "that's Eddie Red, and I'm Lee Hvit, my friends call me Casey."

"Yeah, I do know you, you lost to my sister, Mary Grimmes." Rick replied, earning a groan from Mustang.

"Yeah, yeah we did…should of just shot her with a minigun and be done with it." The man in the mask said, getting a laugh from the psychopath.

"I agree, but…we'll see, she probably won't make it past the second round." Rick said with a grin.

"As much as we'd love to stay and chat," Casey said, grabbing Simmons, "We've got to go, got some business to take care of at Beacon."

"Well, see you around?" Ben asked, his good cheer returning.

"Probably, going to stay for the entire tournament." Eddie replied, laughing as the group walked away.

The group at the booth turned around at the shopkeeper clearing his throat, he held out his hand.

"I've got this." Weiss said, holding out her credit card. The man took and swiped it, the group started up a conversation…right before the old man threw the card like a shruiken.

"Follar!" Rick yelped, the man paid him no mind as he pointed to the register. It read 'declined.'

"What? How can my card be declined? I was barely into my monthly allowance…" Weiss said in comptemplation. Blake tried to subtly take her food, only for the old man to grab it. The cat moaned as she saw her precious fish taken away, one of her true loves snatched.

"Maybe I could help?" Pyrrha's voice rang out, prompting the group to look at the champion and the rest of JNPR.

"Ah, you don't have too…" Yang said, only to have Blake practilly jump on her.

"But she could…" Blake begged, earning a laugh from Rick and Micca.

"I think you deserve it after that last battle…" Pyrrha said with a smile.

"Mind if we join you?" Jaune asked.

"Pull up a chair, I'm getting me a pint while I'm here." Richard said with a laugh, prompting the old man to put a frothing mug down.

"I'll take one as well." Rick said with a grin.

"Are you old enough for that?" Ruby asked, getting a laugh from the pair.

"Ruby…we are eighteen years old, unless otherwise specified, we can drink almost anywhere." Richard said with a grin. The old man put down a mug in front of Rick…right before Micca grabbed it.

"Hey!" The psycho said with a grin.

"What? This is good stuff, you think I'm going to let it go to waste?" Micca said with a grin, prompting Rick laugh.

"At least let me have some of it, it's my money." The psycho in red said, getting a smile from Micca.

"Sure," Micca said as she put it down, "It's pretty good."

"Thank you kindly." Rick said as he downed the rest. The meal was eaten in good health, soon…the bowls were empty.

"Are you sure it's wise to eat before a fight?" Lie Ren asked suddenly.

"Of course, it gives us energy." Pyrrha said as the old man came out and grabbed all the bowls, as well as the mugs of mead. Rick and Micca had shared one more, Richard had consumed three of them, luckily for everyone…they weren't that strong and Richard and Rick were pretty heavyweight when it came to their alcohol consumption. That's when Nora's burp startled them out of their thoughts.

"Crap!" Rick yelled, getting a light smack on the head from Micca.

"You've practilly cussed in every language now, you can stop." The snake faunas said with a giggle.

"Sure thing." Rick said, back

"If I barf, I'm blaming you." Jaune said as he fell face first onto the table.

"Oh, aim it at the enemy." Nora said with a little too much enthusiasm.

"Nora, that's gross, but if you feel the need…" Ren said, making Jaune hold up his hand in a thumbs up.

"Got it." The blonde knight said weakly.

"Well, it's time for us to be off." Pyrrha said.

"So…do you think you're ready?" Ruby asked.

"Of course we are, we've got a world renowned fighter, what's basically a ninja, Jaune, we've trained all year and are awesome, Goodwitch barely yells at us anymore and…Jaune." Nora said with a gesture at the poor knight.

"You gonna take that?" Ren said, his face impassive as ever.

"She's not wrong…" Jaune replied back.

"Ouch." Ben muttered, visibly cringing.

"I'm kidding, he knows I'm kidding…" Nora said, right before going into a rant about losing friends, being labeled losers, not having parents, and becoming failures.

"So…yeah…we're feeling pretty good." Ren said, right before Pyrrha put her arms on Jaune and Nora.

"Don't worry, if anything, we should feel happy that we actually get to fight with actual guidelines and actual…murderers." The Spartan said, earning a laugh from Rick.

"Well…can't comment on that murderous part, but yeah…things should go well." The psycho said with a grin, right before the intercom came on and JNPR was summoned to the arena.

"Well than, good luck…also," Rick said as the team walked away, "…can we actually talk about what happened to Ren and Nora's parents?"

"Come on, slasher, let's go watch." Micca said as the pair got up, the group following suit…

 **At the Flagship…**

Jesse watched the screen as the fight raged on, the man had to admit…those teens really had skills. Pyrrha Nikos definitely held her end of the fight, and, even though he got angry over a small thing, Jaune Arc definitely had leadership skills. The hunter of hunters was ready to see the next fight, a knock at the door got his attention.

"Package for you sir." The soldier said as the door opened

"My copy of the Third Crusade?" Jesse asked, the soldier nodded as he set the package down and slide it over to the man, "Thank you my good man."

"Sir." The soldier replied as he turned and left. Jesse smiled as he picked up the book and walked to his bed, he tore off the paper to see the hardcover surface. That was one of the things he liked about Ironwood, he didn't skimp on the good stuff in life. The crow opened the book to the first page…and stopped, his eyes widened as he read what was written.

 **Insert Mission Impossible Theme…**

Jesse slammed the book shut and got to his feet, the crow moved quickly over to the bathroom. The cameras weren't in there, so he had a chance to hide his escape plan. Jesse reached under a loose tile, found a green wire, and pulled it loose. The door to his cell opened and the camera shut down, Jesse moved quickly, he had a few seconds before the failsafe kicked in. He dove through the door, silent as a mouse. He was in a corridor, no one was around, and they were probably all watching the match.

"That's fine with me…" Jesse whispered as he moved down the corridors, he had to find the armory before it was too late. Thankfully, Atlas loved its signs, the crow moved silently down the hallways undetected. He stopped at an elevator, narrowly dodging the cameras, the touch pad was locked, impenetrable for any criminal. Luckily, Jesse wasn't a criminal, he typed in a four digit code that instantly unlocked the elevator.

"Thank you Ironwood," The man said as he door opened, revealing two soldiers, "Hey guys…how's your life insurance?"

The two men didn't even have time to scream before Jesse leapt upon them, the doors closed as the elevator went down. The sound of blows muffled by the steel, the doors opened on the next level and a single soldier walked out. He adjusted his suit as he walked down the hallway, he rounded a corner to find the armory doors. A small squadron of soldiers stood guard, but they were all looking at a screen with the tournament on it.

Jesse, however, knew better than to try and sneak past them, instead, he walked up to them.

"Hey, who's on?" The crow said, adopting a Boston accent.

"Team SSSN and NDGO." One of the guards answered.

"They any good?" Jesse said, craning his neck to see.

"They're OK, but not as fantastic as the last few, team RWBY, JNPR, and ROSA were pretty kick ass." The same soldier said with a grin.

"Nice, hey…orders from up top, they want me to get in the armory, apparently a report was filed a few days ago that they want checked." The crow ordered.

"What was wrong?" One of the soldier asked.

"Apparently one of the Mech's sustained some damage in a test run, they wanted me to check on it." The crow replied.

"Why didn't they send a report to us?" The soldier asked, his suspicion growing.

"Man, I don't know…with all this bullshit with the Grimm and trying to protect an entire goddamned city, things probably got mixed up. Come on man, help me out." Jesse said, adding a slight beg to his voice.

"Alright, it's your ass on the line." The soldier said as he pressed a button, the door opened and Jesse went in. The armory was fairly big, but Jesse was here for one thing. He walked over to the registry and turned on the screen, he quickly searched a few items, hiding his trail. The crow broke off from the screen as he walked towards the shelves that held confiscated items, he passed multiple possessions, he stopped at one box that read "Roman Torchwick."

Jesse couldn't help his curiosity as he opened it, picking up the bowler hat.

"Dust that's a stupid hat." He muttered as he threw it back in, running further back until he reached a set of shelves marked with a S. He walked down the shelf, stopping as he found what he was looking for. A box marked with his name, he opened it to find his old equipment. A brown trench coat, a fedora, and most importantly, three revolvers. The first two were in a gun belt, the third was in a holster all its own. Jesse quickly threw on his old outfit and guns before walking to an emergency exit, he quickly cut the alarm and walked out into the corridor. He checked a watch that he had picked up, he knew he was running out of time.

The crow quickly ran down the corridors, dodging soldiers as he went. Soon, he found himself on the top deck, he ducked behind some crates. He looked around the ship, only to see that one of the airships was about to take off. Jesse silently cursed under his breath as he reached into his pocket, hoping the item was still there. The crow smiled as he pulled out his silencer, he quickly fit it to the gun and leaned out of cover.

"No lives…" He whispered as he fired a shot into some straps holding crates down, the crates started falling, the men scrambling to catch them. Jesse grinned as he ran forward, making it to the ship still open door. He quickly sneaked in, getting right next to a wall. He breathed a sigh of relief as the ship took off, only to feel a cold blade rest on the back of his neck.

"Who are you?" Winter Schnee's voice rang out…

 **End Theme…**

"Hey, where you going?" Rick asked, the fight with SSSN had just ended and Weiss had started off.

"Don't have any idea, hey, me and Ben are going to head back to Beacon. See you when I see you." Richard yelled as the psycho and Micca followed the heiress as she walked away, being trailed by Ruby.

"Weiss," Ruby yelled as they got closer to the airstrip, "What is the big deal? Who is it? Who is she?"

The four all stared at the regal figure as she walked out of the airship, followed by a group of Mechs… and a man in a trench coat.

"Winter…" Weiss said as she stared at her beloved sister.

"Wait, your sister?" Ruby asked, her voice confused.

"Great, a family reunion, let's hope it goes better than mine." Rick muttered, his voice still sour as he watched the older Schnee woman observe the scene.

"Still probably better than mine, at least she doesn't try to kill you." Micca joked, hiding the pain in her voice.

"Winter!" Weiss's yell shock the pair out of their thoughts, the Atlas specialist slowly turned to face the caller. The younger Schnee ran up to the woman, her steps filled with excitement.

"I'm so happy to see you!" The younger sister yelled, right before regaining her composure, "Your presence honors us."

"Beacon," Winter said, her voice smooth and threatening, "Been a long time, the air feels…different."

"Well, it is fall…it's probably colder…" Ruby said in her normal, cute way. Weiss punched her for that.

"So…what are you doing here?" The heiress asked, her voice full of happiness.

"Classified." Winter answered, prompting a groan from Rick.

"Great, that means crap is about to go down." The psycho muttered.

"Oh, right…how long are you staying?" The little sister asked.

"Classified." The cold woman said.

"Of course." Weiss answered, prompting Rick to groan again. Ruby looked around before she put her hands behind her back.

"Well…this is nice, I think…" The red head said, getting a short, tart, laugh.

"You know, still better than when I met Mary…" Rick muttered, getting a giggle from Micca. The giggle was interrupted when Weiss stared going on a rant about Beacon, Vale, and Atlas, right before Winter cut her off.

"I'm well aware how this kingdom handles it's…buecracy." The specialist answered, disgust in her voice.

"Oh…I'm sorry." Weiss said, her shoulders falling.

"Huh…this is rare, the ice queen is apologizing." Micca said in good humor.

"Nor did I come to see my own flesh and blood fail so badly in battle, but it appears I have no choice in the matter." Winter said, disappointment in her voice.

"But…we won…" Weiss protested.

"Only a novice would call that a victory." Winter said, right before Rick jumped in.

"Isn't it better to have an injuries than defeat?" Rick asked, the older Schnee ignored him.

"Leave us," Winter ordered, her droids taking a few steps back, "How have you been?"

The younger Schnee started going on a rant…right before the older one slapped her.

"Hey." Rick yelped, Micca grabbing his shoulder.

"Silence you boob, I wasn't asking about your rank, I was asking how you've been. Have you been eating properly, have you taken any new hobbies, have you made any friends?"

"Well, there's Ruby…and, these are Rick and Micca." Weiss said as she pointed, Ruby couldn't help but giggle as she pushed in the sore that had grown on Weiss head.

"…I see," Winter said as she looked at the trio, "So this is the leader you wrote of, how appropriately…underwhelming, and this is that psychopath you hang out with…At least he's a good fighter."

"Uh…thank you." Ruby said with a slight bow.

"Am I insulted?" Rick asked, his face one of pure confusion.

"Greetings Ruby Rose, Rick Grimmes, Micca…I wish to thank you for taking an interest in my sister." Winter said, her voice starting to fill with warmth.

"Uh…phrasing?" Rick said, noticing Ruby's cheeks going red, right before she tried to bow.

"I have business with the general and your headmaster," Winter said, "But, seeing as I'm early, why don't you take me to your quarters?"

"Really?" Weiss asked.

"Am I the only one who's concerned that she's asking two under aged girls to take them to a room?" Rick said, getting a smack from Micca.

"Shut up, let's not tick off the woman with training to kill a man." Micca whispered as the two walked away.

"…Just so you're aware, the bunk beds only look unstable." Weiss finished.

"Bunk beds?" Winter asked incredulously.

"Ruby, don't try it." Rick said, preventing the girl from embarrassing herself.

"Thanks…hey Micca," Ruby asked suddenly, "how's Freelancer going?"

"Going great, just need a good power source, not so easy to find." Micca said with a grin as the trio started walking off.

"That went well, at least, nothing has blown up yet." Rick said, regarding the waling droids…

 **At the Festival…**

"Hello Sally," Aedan said as he walked the paved steps of Beacon, "You won't believe what I just bought, a nice kilt, me mum would be proud."

"That's great, Aedan…we might have a problem, guess who I saw a little bit ago." Sally's voice said over the scroll that the bartender was holding.

"A rooster with a set of teeth?" Aedan joked.

"Qrow Branwen, he was drunk. I wasn't able to call since my scrolls been on the fritz." The adopted daughter of Aedan said in a dire tone.

"Qrow…that complicates things, ah…what am I worried about? As long as he doesn't pick a fight with someone…" Aedan started, right before the sound of fighting reached his ears, "I'll…call you back."

 **Back with Winter and Qrow…**

"Why did I have to say something?" Rick moaned as the two warrior duked it out in front of him, slashing, kicking, shooting, the works.

"Right now, I'm more concerned with the fact that Ruby's uncle's an alcoholic." Micca whispered as she dodged a few pebbles.

"He's not that bad when you get to know him." Ruby said weakly, Weiss readied a comment, but suddenly a new challenger appeared on the battlefield.

"What is the bloody meaning of this?" Aedan's loud, booming voice erupted. His blade coming in-between Qrows and Winter's, his face a mask of anger. He split the two up with a yell of effort, the pair split up. The fight wasn't over and all of them knew it, but Qrow decided to start talking.

"Aedan Flint," The man said with a drunk grin, "The last remaining member of team TAAR, the best group of bastards in the last twenty years."

Aedan's eyes widened in rage as the crowds eyes widened in shock, team TAAR was legendary…and this unassuming man was the legendary Aedan the Flame. Weiss, Ruby, and Micca's mouth dropped, Rick, despite not having anything to drink, somehow did a spit take, and even Winter stopped dead in her tracks. However, Aedan wasn't interested in shock, his knuckles suddenly went white on his katana.

"What did you say?" Aedan said quietly, "What did you call them?"

"I called them bastar…" Qrow started, right before Aedan, faster than anyone could react surged forward and slash the man across the chest. Thankfully, Qrow has his Aura up, but the sheer shock of the attack was enough to start the fight again. The bartender quickly dodged the scythe user's counter attack, right before he whipped around and blocked a slash from Winter.

Aedan roared as Qrow came rushing in, only for the bartender to leap into the air and kick them both. Winter, who had never seen Aedan firsthand, went flying back as Qrow recovered and attempted another slash at the bartender. Aedan blocked and responded with a punch to Qrow's gut, the hunter was sent back a few steps, only for Aedan to rush in and slash him again.

The bartender quickly turned to dodge a strike from Winter and follow up with a slash of his own, right before he landed three more strikes on her unbalanced form, he ended his combo with a kick. Winter recovered, right before she leapt back and started running up the wall and across the pillar. Qrow fired a few shots at her, right before leapt into the air.

He weapon split into rapier and a main gouche right before she struck at the drunk man, sending the both flying. The pair landed and started fighting again, right before Aedan jumped back in. The trio moved with such speed that the crowd could barely keep track, Winter managed a hit that send both of the men flying back. Both slammed their blades into the ground to stop their momentum, they stopped right as Winter raised her weapon and slammed it down, a glyph forming.

Soon, a flurry of white doves surrounded the pair, Qrow covered his eye and slashed a few of them…Aedan, however, merely grunted as, in a sudden burst of speed, he slashed all of the fake birds. Winter growled as she saw his handiwork, a glyph formed behind her. Qrow's weapon started to come apart, right before Aedan suddenly slammed his sword into the weapons mechanics.

The drunk man took a quick look at Aedan, who growled as he grabbed the man in a neck lock. Opening him to an attack, Qrow smiled as he watched Winter ready herself. The captain yelled as she surged across the battle field, ready take at least one of them out of the fight.

"Schnee!" Ironwoods voice stopped Winter's blade a few inches from Qrow's throat.

"General Ironwood, sir…" Winter said, her voice filling with embarrassment.

"What in the world do you think you're doing?" Ironwood asked as he walked closer, Penny behind him cowering.

"He started the altercation sir…" Winter started, before Qrow stepped in.

"That's actually not true, she started the fight." Qrow said, his hands behind his head.

"Is that true?" The general asked, the older Schnee lowered her head in shame. That was all the general needed, "And you…"

Qrow pointed to himself.

"What are you doing here?" Ironwood muttered, his voice hiding a deep rage.

"I don't think that's the problem…" Aedan started, his fist clenching as he took a step towards the general.

"Now, now everybody, there is a sanctioned fight happening in the colosseum just around the corner, " Ozpin's voice stopped everyone in their tracks, "I assure you that it has better seats, and popcorn."

"And we all know that's the deciding factor." Rick muttered, grabbing his head as another spasm of pain over took his head.

"You OK?" Micca asked, her concern growing.

"Yeah, just an after effect of having a bomb go off near my face, nothing I haven't faced before." Rick said, watching as the crowd dispersed and the group of hunters walked off.

"Do you need to go see a nurse?" Micca asked, her concern growing even more.

"No," Rick said, flashing a smile as Ruby leaped onto Qrow, "Seeing a heartwarming reunion is good enough medicine."

"At least I see where the recklessness comes from." Weiss said as she walked over to Ruby.

"You're just mad because he kicked butt." Ruby said, punching Weiss in the shoulder.

"That was a draw at best." Weiss countered.

"Not going lie to you two," Rick said as he watched Aedan walking away with the group, "I think Aedan might have one that…team TAAR, never would have guessed."

 **Ozpin's office…**

"If you were one of my men, I'd have you shot." Ironwood said with venom as Qrow exited the elevator, followed by Ozpin, Glynda, and Aedan.

"If I was one of your men, I'd shoot myself." The hunter said in a lazy tone.

"While I don't condone his behavior, retaliating like you did certainly didn't help." Glynda said, her voice stern.

"He was drunk!" Winter said, her voice full of shock.

"He's always drunk." Glynda said, prompting the room to look at him as he took a swig from a bottle.

"And you," Glynda said as she pointed at Aedan, "What the hell was that?"

"An attempt to stop the fight, before I got carried away." Aedan said, giving Glynda an innocent stare.

"Qrow," Ozpin said, ignoring Aedan's comment, "Why are you here?"

"You've been out of contact, in the dark…" Ironwood started.

"I'm not one of your special ops, Jimmy." Qrow replied,

"General." Winter said, her voice sharp.

"Piss off lassie, this isn't the place." Aedan said, his voice full of something…else.

"Our enemy is here…" Qrow started, before Ironwood cut him off.

"We know." Ironwood said, his voice hard.

"We do? Last time I checked, when you know your enemy is amongst you, you give a damn description…why the hell don't I know what I should be looking for then?" Aedan said, his voice full of rage.

"You see this?" Qrow said, pulling out his scroll, "That's the send button."

"They had reason to think that you'd been compromised." Winter said, her annoyance growing.

"And I have no reason for you to be here, seriously, who invited her?" Qrow said, pointing at the women who gnashed her teeth.

"Schnee, we'll discuss this incident back on my ship." Ironwood said, prompting the woman to turn around.

"Sir?" She asked, her voice full of confusion.

"Let's go lass, they telling me anything either, despite the fact that they asked for me help." Aedan said, giving the group a hard death stare. The pair started going down an elevator, they refused to look at each other. They stopped, looking at each other finally, not noticing the man in the trench coat stepping onto the other elevator.

 **Ozpin's office…**

"I've also got another boon for us," Qrow said as Ozpin finished, "The fact that you haven't gotten his help yet is one of the stupidest things I've seen yet."

The group wasn't able to comment as the elevator dinged.

"There he is now…" Qrow said as the doors opened to reveal none other than Jesse Stampede.

"Miss me oh glorious secret counsel?" The man said as he got off the elevator, his very presence filling the room with shock.

"How did you escape?" Ironwood said, taking a few threatening steps forward.

"Wasn't hard, a few wires, a few punches, did you really expect to hold me?" Jesse said with a sarcastic tone.

"How did you get down here?" Ironwood asked, knowing that he would have had to smuggle himself.

"That was the fun part…Winter Schnee isn't stupid," Jesse said as he walked over and swiped Qrow's hip flask, "I was lucky enough to run into her ship, she knew that she didn't stand a chance against me, so she let me ride along. Other bright side to this story? She also knew that you couldn't hold me, not legally. Winter just save you a bunch of paperwork and backlash, trust me…you're about to get a lot of it."

"At least she made the right choice in that matter," Ironwood said, surprising everyone except Ozpin.

"Jesse Stampede…what do you know about the current situation?" The director of Beacon asked, getting a laugh from Jesse as he finished off Qrow's flask.

"Qrow got some info to me, the rest I figured out," The detective said as he threw the flask back to its owner, "You've got someone raising hell, using the White Fang and Atlas to do it, causing fear to the public amongst other things."

"What else?" Glynda asked, a little bit of desperation in her voice.

"Oh, yes…the fact that someone had the guts to attack and almost kill a Maiden, how could I forget that? Oh wait, I can't," Jesse said, his eyes filling with rage, "Why, dear Dust why, did I have to be informed through a goddamned secret note on this?"

"You were…" Glynda started before Jesse silenced her with a glare.

"It doesn't matter, I'm here now…I'll keep you informed on my progress…just keep your ego's and stupid rules out of my way," the hunter of hunter's said as he walked to the elevator, "Don't worry, I'll catch your prey."

"What did you tell him?" Ironwood asked as the door closed.

"Enough, he doesn't know about the stolen power, though he might find out. I do need to ask," Qrow said as he watched the arrow go down, "Why did you bring him in? Or, more importantly, Aedan Flint?"

"For Jesse? That's classified, for Aedan?" Ironwood said, only for Ozpin to finish the sentence for him.

"He's emotional, remember…he taught most of you, he's formed an attachment. An attachment that might lead him to be reckless." The director said in a calm voice.

"That's bull, we both know that it is, but…since you haven't kept me in the loop in a while…I guess I'll have to live with it." Qrow said as he walked away…

 **At the main hall…**

Jesse walked down the hall, no one was around that he could see…but smelling? That's another story.

"I know you're there," Jesse said, taking a deep whiff of the smell of blood. A shimmering sound came from behind him, the crow turning to regard the man. His masked face and coat was a dead giveaway, "So…she's not getting involved?"

A sound similar to the static filled the air.

"Right, you know…give her a message for me, would ya?" Jesse asked, getting a static sound in return, "Tell her…tell her that her daughter fought well."

The man nodded as he disappeared in a smoke cloud, leaving Jesse by his lonesome…

 **At Cinder's room…**

"And what do you have to say to me?" Cinder said into her scroll, Mercury and Emerald had left.

"Rick Grimmes in still in the tournament," The voice on the other end responded, a voice modifier doing its job, "A clever trick, killing two birds with one stone."

"I know, but I don't imagine you called just for a compliment, Blud" Cinder said, her voice smooth and silky.

"You'd be right, the White Fang called me to contact you, Shaun Peg is dead." The voice said, the pitch never changing.

"Is that so? Tell me, what should our next move against Rick be?" Cinder asked, her voice full of curiosity. She had already underestimated Rick once and wasn't keen on doing it again.

"Don't target him yet, use him properly and he will eliminate your competition in the tournament, after the semifinals, I'll contact you again." The voice said, cutting off after that. Cinder smiled…she already had a fight for him in mind…

 **In ROSA's room…**

Rick looked in the mirror of his bathroom, Alex and Owen had gone out for some late night shopping and he had remained behind. It was late, EMBR had gone to sleep, or as much sleep as you could have if you had a ninja whose preferred cover was night. Another shot of pain hit Rick again, sending him back a few steps.

"I get it, you want to talk and me not shut you out like I always do, speak your peaces and let me sleep." Rick groaned as he looked back into the mirror.

"Should have snapped her neck, remove her from the competition." Rick said suddenly, his voice getting deeper and hungrier.

"Shut up, I couldn't do that in public, besides…she's my friend." Rick said his voice going back to normal.

"Friend? Don't kid yourself, she's a liar…" The deeper voice said as Rick looked into a mirror.

"Coming from you Butcher? That's actually really funny," Rick said with a laugh, "You're the one who keeps telling me to kill people, that that will solve my problems."

"You need to accept that sometimes people need to die." The Butcher said from Rick's mouth.

"I don't disagree, but not now…Emerald is a friend, we'll see were this goes." Rick said as he walked out of the washroom.

"Idiot…" The Butcher said as he faded from Rick's mind as the psychopath jumped onto his bed.

"Hey Rick," Another voice came from his lips, this one higher, "I needed to say this…you're doing well with Micca, she's happy."

"Thanks…I think? Look, Maid, you don't need to comment on that kind of stuff, you already helped me once, you don't need to again." Rick said with a grin.

"Oh…you oafish buffoon, I don't intend to stop on that matter, not until I'm confident you can do it yourself." The voice known as Maid said with a laugh.

"Hey, I kissed her of my own free will…" Rick muttered before giggling again.

"That you did, good night Rick." The voice said as Rick's eyes closed, welcoming the sweet realm of dreams…


	6. The Best Laid Plans

**Insert "Killing Floor," Black Stone Cherry…**

The crowd cheered as the combatants entered the stage, the noise was deafening, and the cheers full of joy and of bloodlust. Team ROSA, EMBR, RWBY, and JNPR all watched, Shaun was definitely the most excited to see this fight. Team LWTJ and BLCP took their places at the center of the stage, the desire of battle clear in their eyes.

"Listen here, LWTJ," Leonidas said, keeping his voice down, "These guys have managed to not only win the last Vytal Festival, but the tournaments in between our years. They are not to be trifled with, Teddy, deal with Lancelot, his firepower is enough to take us down if he hits. Josephine, fight Perseus, use your speed to your advantage."

"I assume you want a shot at Beowulf?" Willow asked, her voice full of laughter.

"You know me well, of course I do." Leo laughed out, readying his shield.

"Well then," Beowulf yelled, overhearing that part, "What are we waiting for?"

The slot's stopped, dividing the arena to a desert landscape and a stormy harbor. The bell rang, the teams surged forward. All of them split to their respective warriors, Teddy VS Lancelot, Josephine to Perseus, Willow to Caramel, and Beowulf to Leonidas.

Josephine and Perseus's weapon clashed in a brilliant flash of sparks, Perseus's Xiphos against Jose's saber. Josephine used her weapons length to her advantage, pushing the toga clad warrior back. His short blade couldn't get past the longer weapons reach, but you don't get to be a champion by letting such a small thing get in your way. The man leaped back, off the platform into the sandy desert, Jose followed suit.

The wind nipped at her as it picked up, creating a miniature sandstorm. She quickly brought her sword to a defensive stance, ready for an attack. That's when a blow came right across her back, she whirled around, swinging as she went. Her blade hit nothing but thin air, another blow came across her back, this one sending her to the ground.

"Oh, it looks like Perseus is using his semblance to his advantage." Port Said, his mustache twitching.

"For those of you who haven't watched his last fight in the last festival, Perseus can make himself invisible to his enemies," Oobleck said with a grin, "However, if one can figure out his weakness, his semblance might become useless."

Josephine heard that, her mind working as fast as possible to figure out what to do. She stopped and listened, the wind was blowing yes, but if she could figure out where he was…there, Jose yelled as she swung her weapon out. Her blade clashed with the toga clad man, knocking him out of his invisibility.

"Found me," Perseus said as he cracked his neck, "Let's see if you still got the strength to beat me."

Josephine nodded as she readied herself for the next attack, it was at this point where a roaring of engines filled the arena. The crowd head's snapped to the source, two motorcycles careening into the desert arena. One was a sleek, black design while the other was a hog.

"Wait, are those allowed here?" Port whispered to Oobleck.

"Yes, under certain circumstances, if the combatants agree, certain vehicles are allowed in the arena. Lancelot's weapon works best when used atop a motorcycle." Oobleck answered, to Port and to the camera. Lancelot leaped onto his motorcycle, readying himself for the next attack. Teddy did the same, his rifle slung pointed at the black knight. The sands of the arena cleared for a moment, allowing a clear view of what was happening.

The two combatants eyed each other, Teddy's eyes squinted behind his glasses and stared into the cold, unilluminated eye slits of the man's mask. A cold pause could be heard, only the blades of the other combatants could be heard, right before the cycles wheels started, burning out and creating a dust cloud. The two combatants shot towards each other, Teddy firing his weapon with one hand as he got closer. The two passed each other, the lance almost taking off Teddy and the bayonet almost taking Lancelot's helmet off.

The two's vehicles whirled around, facing each other again, Teddy ducked out of the way of the lance, leaning over to try and fire his weapon. The trigger was pulled…and nothing happened.

"Crap," The man muttered, he was out of ammo, and with Lancelot on him…he wouldn't have any time to reload, "For death or glory."

The pair started again, this time racing towards each other at high speeds, as they neared, Lancelot suddenly shifted his weapon, stabbing at Teddy's bike. He skewered the bike, launching Teddy across the arena. The cowboy landed with a hard thud, skipping across the arena. He rolled to a stop, looked around, spat, and got to his feet.

He quickly loaded his rifle, right as Lancelot spun his bike around. Teddy smiled despite himself, he was having a great time. The bike roared as it charged, Teddy stood his ground as the hunk of death approached him. It neared him, ready to finish this, right before Teddy rolled out of the way, slashing at his opponents wheels. Lancelot leapt back, knowing that he had lost control, and landed facing the cowboy. They stared each other down again, right before Teddy charged into the fray again.

That's when the sound of Dust being used attracted the attention of the crowd as Willow and Caramel clashed in the stormy weather area, the two amazons refusing to buckle an inch. The stared into each other's eyes, both full of determination to win. Willow suddenly head butted Caramel, sending her back a few steps as she readied another Dust blast. This one was an ice blast, ready to trap Caramel. The Celtic woman simply smiled as she leapt over the blast, landing behind her opponent.

Willow cursed as Caramel slammed her ax into the freedom fighters back, launching her into a wooden ship wall. The blow enough to shatter the wood, sending Willow into the ship. Caramel shifted her weapon into assault rifle form and riddled the ship with bullets, hoping to take down Willow before she had time to recover. However, her barrage was interrupted by a blast of fire, which blew an even bigger hole in the wall.

Willow walked out, the rain steaming against her weapons red hot form, she turned to face Caramel, who smiled as she lengthened her ax. This was going to be fun, very fun. The two's weapons clashed again, however, the audience's attention went back to Beowulf and Leonidas, neither had moved away from the arena. Beowulf was using his smaller sword, but Leo was blocking it with his shield.

"Come on, what about that big blade?" Leo jeered, not appreciating what he perceived as someone going easy on him.

"Don't want to end the fight too quickly," Beowulf said with a laugh, "I wish to give you a chance."

"Hah, more likely you're afraid," Leo said as he blocked another one of Beo's strikes, "A Spartan pride is insulted most when an enemy holds back."

"You wish to face my blade?" Beowulf said, a grin still on his face, "I warn you, you will not be able to take it."

 **Change music to "Long Stick Goes Boom," Krokus…**

"Oh, I think I can." Leo said as he readied himself, Beo charged and that's when the huge blade, which had been stuck in the ground, rocketed towards him. The two blades combined with each other and in one quick motion, the rockets fired up and the weapon came careening towards Leo. The Spartan smiled as he raised his shield…only to be knocked out of the arena with a single hit.

"Oh, and that's the power of Beowulf's Giant-Slayer," Port said with a laugh, "That's 135 kilograms of metal hitting right into a shield, Leo will be feeling that soon."

Leo sat down as he stared at Beowulf, who waved at him, before bursting out laughing. He couldn't be angry, it was his own damn fault. Beowulf then simply sat down, watching his team, he didn't want to take a hard earned victory from LWTJ if they won against their opponents. It didn't seem like that would be the case as Perseus had launched Jose into the ship area, right next to Willow, who was currently fending off a clip from Caramel.

"Should I finish this now?" Perseus said as he jumped next to Caramel.

"All good things must come to an end, don't you say?" Caramel said as she raised her weapon, slamming it down. The two women looked down and realized some important…they were standing on a wooden deck, they looked at each other…right before they fell down.

"I've got it," Caramel said as she slashed at the ships supports, sending it crashing down on top of the two, "Should we make sure their OK?"

"Look at the board, they're fine." Perseus said, pointing out that the two were barely in the red…right before realizing that Lancelot was in the red too…

"They don't call me the Bull Moose for nothing." Teddy said as he climbed on to the ship, ready to fight.

"Not in the mood to get roughed up by a mustached man," The toga clad fighter said, "I'll end this properly."

As he said that, his weapon suddenly shifted into its discus form. He threw into the stormy skies, the crowd silence at this. Many of them had seen this attack before, it was the second hardest hitting attack that BLCP could do, besides Beowulf's sword. The discus flew back to Perseus, pulsing with lightning.

"Zeus's fury!" Perseus yelled, throwing the disk at Teddy. Teddy grunted at the tossed item…right before grabbing it out of the air before everyone's very eyes, everyone, including team BLCP's, jaws hit the floor as Teddy absorbed the energy. He grinned, right before he pulled out his rifle and fired, the bullet absorbing the energy and hitting the ground between the two. They both looked at each other and had the same thought.

"Fu…" was all the time they had to say before the energy exploded, knocking them off the ship and into the red.

"That'll do it." Teddy said, falling to his knees as he looked at the scroll in this rifle, his Aura was in the red. The buzzer sounded, team BLCP had won. That's when the screen stopped, and was reminded back to that moment when Teddy and Lancelot were jousting. The viewer zoomed in on the bottom of the helmet of Lancelot, revealing a lock of golden, blond hair.

"Interesting." Cinder said as she closed her scroll, a plan forming in her head…

 **Later…**

Rick yawned as he got to his feet, Alex and Owen had come and gone already but the psychopath had decided to keep sleeping. The voices in his head had stopped for a while, probably because too much interference can have some…nasty effects on Rick's being. The psycho threw on his usual getup before heading outside, only to run into Richard and Ben having a conversation.

"…You've been pushing this off for too long." Ben said, putting his hand on Richards shoulder.

"I know, it's just…it's not that simple, I've…" Richard started right as he noticed Rick coming down the hallway.

"What's up?" The psycho asked as he neared, "Anything I should know about?"

"It's nothing that concerns you," Richard said as he stormed off, "Besides, shouldn't you be getting ready for your fight?"

"Not scheduled yet," Rick called at him before turning to his assassin friend, "What's up his ass?"

"Nothing, just him being an idiot. Hey, you doing the Challenge by Combat?" Ben asked, changing the conversation.

"Hey, got to get limbered up and allow those gamblers to get a good look at all this," Rick said with a grin, gesturing at his body.

"Funny, hey…" Ben said as Rick turned away.

"What? Something wrong?" The psycho said as he stopped, Ben seemed to want to tell him something.

"…No, never mind, it's nothing." Ben said with a grin, hiding his emotions all too well.

"Ok, make sure to hit up the CBC, I'm always down for an audience." The psychopath said with a grin, walking along. Ben grit his teeth, he wanted to tell his friends about what he knew, but he didn't have enough evidence to convince them.

"Damn it." The assassin muttered as he walked along, his dark, almost black navy suit moving silently.

 **Meanwhile, at team RWBY's Room…**

"Mind if I play a round, lad and lassie's?" Aedan said as he walked into the room, both Ruby and Yang jumping at the voice.

"Sure," Yang said with a smile as she handed him a controller, "Fair warning, Qrow's great at this."

"We'll see about that," The Irishman said as he sat down with the blonde brawler at his back, "Been a while since I've picked up a controller."

"Let's see if you top me this time." Qrow said with a grin, only for Aedan catch him in a combo and utterly destroy him.

"Come on, give me a challenge." Aedan said with a grin at the man's shocked face.

"But…how did…when did…what?" Qrow yelped out, more out of shock than anything else.

"That's the secret, laddie," The bartender said with a grin, "I won't ever tell."

"You a-…" Qrow started before a glare from Yang and Aedan silenced him.

"Hey, Aedan…are you really from team TAAR?" Ruby asked suddenly, earning a cough from Aedan.

"Aye, I am." Aedan said with a sigh.

"So…you really are Aedan the Flame?" Yang asked as well, leaning in closer.

"Aye, though I haven't used that title in…ten years? Been a while though." Aedan said with a laugh.

"Can I have your autograph?!" Ruby yelled, earning a look from Yang.

"Ruby…" Yang started before Aedan cut her off.

"Sure you can, fair warning, I'm not the best signer." Aedan said with a grin, making the young girl squeal and run around the room to get something for him to write on.

"Do people really want my autograph?" Aedan asked suddenly, prompting Qrow to laugh.

"You might have forgotten, but you did save Vale multiple times, hell, you saved Vytal multiple times. I'm surprised the paparazzi aren't clamoring to talk to you." Qrow said as Aedan grunted.

"Yeah, I forgot what it was like to be remembered for TAAR," Aedan said as he leaned in to Qrow, "Fair warning lad, if I ever hear you call my team a bunch of bastards again, even if you are drunk, I'll kill ya dead."

Qrow almost replied when Ruby jumped in-between them with a pen and photograph. It was a picture of team TAAR from a well-known painting of the team, they had once saved an artist and he repaid them with this painting. It depicted team TAAR clearly on the body of a dead dragon, Aedan's tall and broad frame was only just taller than the people next to him. A woman in steel clad armor, stood triumphantly with her sword in a dragons head, a man in leather with a shotgun over his shoulder looked towards the painter, and a small woman huddled next to the dragon's head, poking it. Aedan was laughing into the sky.

Aedan giggled at the sight, right before he signed his name in long, flowing Gaelic script. He finished with a symbol next to his name, two swords, one a katana, the other a longsword suited for chopping off heads over a flame. Ruby cooed at the sight, recognizing the symbol as Aedan's.

"Been a long time since I've drawn that," The aged warrior said as he handed it back to the young girl, "Hope you like it."

Ruby was at a loss for words, so she just settled for more squealing.

"Sorry to leave so quickly, but I've got something to attend to." Aedan said as he got to his feet, walking out of the room.

"You going to watch me and Weiss fight?" Yang called out as he exited.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world, someone's got to protect you kids from getting hurt." The bartender said as he walked out, though he couldn't keep the frown off his face. He needed to find someone to talk to, someone he could trust…

 **At the pavilion…**

"Holy shit, a white Grimm!" Rick yelped as he leapt into combat, his fist raised. Both Weiss and Winter jumped as he landed, delivering a punch directly to the beast mouth. The creature didn't roar in pain as he expected, but the psychopath simply thought he hadn't hurt it…so he punched it again.

"Rick!" Weiss ordered, stopping the psychopath dead in his tracks.

"What? It's a Grimm, we as hunters are supposed to be trying to kill it, right?" The psychopath asked with a confused expression, Weiss groaned as Winter got up. The younger sister knew what was coming next, a slap, maybe a punch, definitely an earful…and with Winter? That could be just as bad as the punch.

"You…are correct," Winter said, surprising both of them.

"What?" Weiss asked, right before Winter smacked Rick upside the head, "That's more like it…"

"Hey," Micca's voice rang out as she came over, she walked up to Winter. The snake faunas was able to stare the older Schnee sister in the eyes, "Nobody gets to hit my boyfriend but me."

"Hey, wait a minute…" Rick started before Micca cut him off.

"Especially not an over blown, big boobed bimbo who can't hit the square side of a barn with a minigun." Micca said with a smirk. Both Rick and Weiss's eyes widened at that…they had both seen what Winter could do…needless to say, both were scared out of their minds.

"I was wondering if you were Uni's sister," Winter said with a smile, "How is she doing?"

"Great last time we talked…" Micca started before Weiss cut her off.

"Wait, Uni? As in that girl you graduated with? The one the size of an Ursa? She's your sister?!" Weiss yelled in shock.

"You really never figured it out?" Micca asked, her grin showing her amusement.

"Well…no, she's was huge and your…well, not as big." Weiss said, her voice uncertain.

"It's OK, not many people realize it." Micca said with a grin.

"How's Lucy doing?" Winter asked, her voice solemn.

"Better, being in a more temperate climate helps." Micca answered with a said voice.

"Wait, Lucy? That blonde you used to hang out with? What's wrong with her?" Weiss asked, her voice filled with concern.

"She's fine, just been sick for a while," Winter said with a sigh, "But…we have some other matters to attend to, if you'll excuse us."

"Don't worry, I actually came to grab Rick," Micca said with a grin, "He's wanted in the CBC."

"I was on my way…" Rick muttered, right before Micca grabbed his shoulder.

"Come on, Rick, they're waiting for you." The snake said with a laugh as she lead him away, leaving the two sister alone.

"You really didn't figure it out?" Winter asked, "You loved it when they came over."

"Yeah…I just…it's been a while." Weiss whispered.

"That it has, but…back to summoning." Winter said, pulling out her blade.

 **At the festival grounds…**

Aedan walked through the grounds, his face in deep thought as he walked. The samurai was disturbed these recent events to say the least, at most…he was downright livid that Ozpin didn't trust him.

"A light for a pipe?" An old man's voice brought him out of his thoughts, he turned to face Misho.

"Sensei, I didn't see you there." Aedan said with a bow.

"Oh, piss on formalities, what's wrong? I haven't seen you this upset in a long time." Misho asked, his voice full of concern.

"It's that secret council," Aedan said with a grunt as he sat down on a barrel, "They're hiding something from me, something big. I don't like surprises, especially when people's lives are on the line."

"Ah, I see," Misho said as he leaned on his weapon like a cane, "They haven't told you anything?"

"No…just that something coming, but whatever that is? Hell if I know." The bartender said, his voice full of rage.

"Hm…and if I might ask, what are you afraid of? Ozpin has shown good judgement before." Misho said, though he immediately cringed at Aedan's hard stare.

"Aye, but when's his judgements wrong? People die…like the rest of TAAR," Aedan said angrily, "Right now, he's relying on these…children to be ready to fight. I'm just…"

"You've grown attached," Misho said, putting an arm on Aedan's shoulder, "I know you think of these teams as your children, and I understand your fear, I must warn you of something."

Aedan looked up in confusion.

"You're right to worry, not only is something coming, it's going to rock the foundation to its core. I don't know what's going to happen, but I'm afraid I might end up seeing to wars in a single lifetime," Misho said with a sad smile, "Protect your children, Aedan, they will need it."

 **In the hallways of Beacon…**

Neo walked along the grand halls, she was no longer required to fight with her team, all she needed was to secure a nurse's uniform and the plan would be set in motion. She barely noticed the man with long hair walking towards her until he ran into her.

"Excuse me." The man said as he walked away, Neo stared at him…why did he look familiar to her? The man rounded the corner and put on his fedora.

"That's one bird down." Jesse said, his face dire…

 **In the streets of Vale…**

A woman like figure watched over the streets, a mask on her face. It was a Noh mask, carved from wood to resemble a demon. The Blood Hunter suddenly appeared behind her, its yellow eyes glowing in the sunlight.

"Yes, I know…she's playing a dangerous game, keep an eye on her." The woman in the mask said, the Blood Hunter nodded as he faded out from her view. He reappeared on a nearby rooftop, peering in to see Wun Sol practicing her weapons on pages of Rick Grimmes.

 **At the combat rooms…**

"Welcome back to the Challenge by Combat!" The announcer said, "For those of you who are just joining us on the net, let me give you the rundown. CBC is an area where fighters can gather to test their skills on other hunters in a non-tournament setting, with the random number system, the chances that these people will fight each other in the area is very small."

"This is also for those of you who wish to bet on fighters," The other host said, this one was a female with black hair, "As you know, the schools take a five percent royalty fee for this event to help support the schools."

"But back to the fights at hand, right now it's a fight of speed and quickness, Richard Necro VS Lie Ren!" The announcer said as the fight went up, both Richard and Ren were in the yellow, cracking their necks as the readied themselves for more. Both charged again, rushing towards each other with speed to make a certain blue hedgehog proud. Their weapons sparked as they fought, the speed making it almost impossible to for the audience to keep up.

A buzzer suddenly sounded as Ren went flying his Aura in the red. Richard pumped his fist in the air…right before collapsing. The audience looked at the screen, Richard had won…but only by a few blows. The man in rust clothing moved out of the arena, next to team EMBR and Rick.

"Nice fight." Velvet's voice broke Richard out of his stupor.

"Oh hey, look at the time…I've got to go do…something, catch you guys later!" Richard said as he suddenly took off.

"…you two didn't have sex did you?" Rick suddenly asked, getting a smack from both Emily and Micca.

"No…I already know what's he's afraid off though," Velvet said with a grin, "I've just got to find him."

"That' good," Rick said with a grin as his name was called, "Well, let's see what happens now, probably going to be a…good…fight."

Rick's face fell as he looked at his opponent, Nora Valkyrie, her grin was almost contagious but Rick know immediately how this was going to go down.

"Crap." The psychopath muttered as the bell rang, signaling the two to start. Rick rushed forward, leaping over Nora's hammer, dodging her follow-up swing and hitting her with his own. She whirled around and tried to bury him with her weapon, only for him to roll out of the way and kick her in the back. Nora laughed, she was having a blast with this!

Rick followed suit, even though he was in trouble, the girls bubbly attitude definitely infected anyone around her. Rick dove between her legs, jumping up and head-butting her in the face…that was his biggest mistake, rather than her head being sent back…it stayed put. Nora smiled as she put one of her feet down, readying her big swing.

"Oh…shi…" Rick started right before the hammer made contact, sending him flying…right into the announcer's booth, "Remember kids, brush your teeth, eat your vegetable…and one day, you too, may hit like Nora."

The two started at Rick for a spell, right before he fell out of the booth, landing in a heap in the stands. Micca and Ben rushed over to him, only to see him laughing.

"Micca, I say this without any attraction beyond platonic, what a woman." The psychopath laughed out, everyone else following suit.

 **At the fairgrounds…**

Richard pace nervously, he knew he had to tell Velvet what he had to say…but he didn't know how. He could fight a King Taijitu bare handed, but he couldn't find the words to say. So…here he sat, in quite the pickle, run flat up against a wall, or…maybe a gate that he just couldn't open.

"Richard." Velvet said with a grin as she walked in.

"Still closed, still closed…hmm," Richard muttered, right before realizing that she was right next to him, "Gah, Velvet!"

"Richard…you've something to say, say it." The bunny said with a grin.

"I just…I don't…I can't…" The monk sputtered out, his words getting all confused.

"You're breaking up with me." Velvet said, making Richard suddenly fall down.

"What, when did?" Richard asked, only for Velvet to laugh.

"You've been avoiding me the past few days, trying figure out what to say, it was kind of obvious." The bunny said with a laugh.

"So…you knew?" Richard asked, to which Velvet nodded, "Any desire to know why?"

"Sure, might as well, I might need to tell Coco so won't try to kill you." The bunny replied, to which Richard laughed.

"Good point," The monk said as he sat down, "It began before that breach in the city, when we talked. You know how I said I didn't pity you? It hit me that…I actually did, I was thinking you as a poor defenseless bunny. I'm sorry, but…when I realized that I couldn't keep going with this. You deserve someone who doesn't pity you, someone who thinks of you as a fighter, not as something to defend."

"Richard," Velvet said with a sad smile, "You're a great guy, and I appreciate you for…thinking of this. I admit, I was wondering the same thing myself, if you actually did pity me. Richard, I just want to say, it was fun while it lasted. Still friends?"

"Damn straight," Richard said with a grin, "Though…how much money would you bet that Coco and Yat's are going to try and kill me?"

"Twenty lien." Velvet said with a grin as she and Richard got up, both knowing that Richard was probably screwed in more ways than one.

 **At Beacon…**

Caine Longshot scoped out the area, it was later in the day and everyone was retreating to their rooms for the night. Caine had been ordered to figure who was where in case Cinder decided to…remove some problem characters. However, unbeknownst to Caine, another pair of eyes was on him, and their owner's fluffy tail's was raised in alarm.


	7. Glory, Lies, and Blood

"Penny!" Ruby's voice brought the android out of her stupor, she had just gotten done with her match and was understandably happy to see the red head.

"Ruby!" Penny yelled, launching herself into a hug, knocking both of them to the ground.

"Nice." Ben's voice made the pair look up to see the ninja standing with a grin on his face.

"Ruby, Ben," Penny said as she got to her feet and gestured at the dark skinned girl in front of them wearing a white blouse with a blue skirt and matching beret, "This is my teammate."

"Ceil Soleil." The girl said with a slight bow.

"Hi, I'm Ruby…" The red head started before the girl but her off.

"Ruby Rose, 15, hails from Patch, leader of team RWBY, status:…questionable." The girl said before she turned to Ben.

"This should be good…" Ben muttered before the girl started on him.

"Ben Keno, 17, hails from Tradition, member of team EMBR, brother of Qui Keno who was known for his…interest." Ceil said, taking a weary step back.

"Let me assure you, I share none of his interest, a little too creepy for me." Ben said with a disarming grin.

"So…Penny, you two were incredible out there, how do you keep control over all those swords? It's so cool!" Ruby gushed, clearly excited.

"Penny, I believe it is best if we move onto out next location." Ceil cut in, making Ben give her a look.

"Dust, are you one of those 'on time is to be late?" Ben groaned, Ceil ignored him.

"Could we have just a minute to talk?" Penny asked after an awkward silence. Ceil looked at her watch, then took a few steps back.

"So is she…a friend?" Ruby asked, her confusion evident.

"In a way, she's like Blake…if she was ordered to spend time with you." Penny said.

"Oh, like Weiss…" Ruby said with a slight blush.

"…precisely." Penny said after a short pause, her eyes could see the way Ruby's body was reacting to the name but didn't press it.

"Does she know about…you know…" Ruby started before making various robot noises.

"Oh now, General Ironwood doesn't want really anyone to know…" Penny started before Ben cut her off.

"Great, so me and Ruby might be on a hit list, go on." Ben said with a laugh.

"There was one incident with a magnet, but I was able to play it off…" The robot girl said with a grin, earning a laugh from the trio, "Ruby, there's something I've been wanting to talk to you about."

Penny glanced over at Ceil.

"I want to stay at Beacon." She whispered, earning a scoff of disbelief from Ben.

"Penny they'll never let you do that." Ruby whispered, true sadness radiating from her voice.

"That's not the only problem, could you even function without Atlas tech?" Ben whispered.

"I know, but I've got a plan as for the technology, I'll…" Penny started before Ceil cut in.

"It's been precisely one minute ma'am." The woman in blue said, cutting off the robot.

"I'll talk to you more soon friends." Penny said with a grin as she and Ceil walked off.

"So…what were these interest your brother had?" Ruby asked as her and Ben turned around.

"My older brother had a slight interest in the occult, you know, resurrection spells, portals to hell, soul transference, just a bunch of mumbo jumbo," Ben said with a grin as they walked, "I'm just happy Azul was there to make sure he didn't kill himself."

"Azul?" Ruby asked, clearly confused.

"Oh, I've never talked about him?" Ben said with a strange look, Ruby shook her head, "Odd, he was like a second brother to me, I should have mentioned him. Anyway, his full name was Azul de la Vega, he was a nobleman from the Vega line. Weiss probably could tell you more about them than I could, anyway, after some trouble with the police, spending a few years in prison, surviving an attack by an assassin, he ended up staying with me and my family."

"That's so cool, what happened next?" Ruby gushed, clearly enthralled by the tale.

"Well, the story doesn't have a happy ending, remember me talking how my brother died? Azul was in the car as well, they didn't make it." Ben said with a sigh, Ruby put her arm around Ben, who smiled sadly.

"I miss those two sons a bitches, but enough of that, isn't Yang and Weiss fighting soon?" Ben said suddenly, making Ruby perk up.

"Oh yeah, let's grab a seat!" The red head said, grabbing the ninja and dragging him off towards the seats. They both sat down and looked as the two members of RWBY walked onstage, ready to duke it out.

"What do you think of their opponents?" Ruby said, excitedly.

"No idea, but since they're from Atlas, probably going to be really professional and…" Ben was cut off by the sight of a roller blading cat faunas, "Oh Dust me in the ass."

 **In Town…**

Jesse stared at the door of the establishment, the sign above it read "A Rest for the Weary." The cowboy walked right in, moving straight to the bar, he sat down and stared at the colored glass.

"You've got some nerve walking in here." A woman's voice cut through the air like a knife.

"Why? I can't enjoy the company of an old friend?" Jesse said without looking at the speaker, knowing full well what she looked like.

"Not after what you did to that poor girl." The woman said with malice.

"Mary…that was ten years ago, I was cleared of the charges." Jesse said as he pulled out a smoke and put it in between his lips.

"Governments always cover up their best agents," The woman said as she walked in front of him, Jesse took a draw as he looked her over. She was an older woman, but clearly knew her way around a bar brawl, "Especially their assassins."

"Do you forget who cleared me? Your old boss?" The bounty hunter said, right before Mary ripped the smoke out of his mouth.

"Aedan Flint is known for getting soft on his former students," Mary said with a snarl, "You can drink all you want, but stay away from my son and Milly."

"Thatch? Doing well for himself, ain't he? Managed to get past the first round with his team didn't he? Let me make one thing clear, I don't give a damn about your son. However, Milly? That's another matter, where is she?" Jesse said, his eyes burning.

"I will not let you see her, she's been through enough with Meryl's death and you disappearing for six months." Mary said, slamming down a glass and filling it with some liquor.

"You remembered my favorite," Jesse said as he took a sip, "I need to see her, Mary, and you can't stop me. However, you can make it easier for me, besides, she's a grown woman and she sure as hell doesn't need protecting."

"Why I ouaghta…" Mary said, sizing Jesse up, wondering if he might have slowed down.

"Hi mum!" A deep voice filled the room, Jesse's eyes snapped to a mirror over the bar and recognized the tall form of Thatch Edwards. Mary's eyes widened at the sight of her son at this time, she didn't want him here during this.

"Who's this?" The pirate said as he sat down at the bar, noticing the intense stare that his mother was giving him.

"No one dear, he was just leaving, right?" Mary said, getting a scoff from Jesse.

"Not until you tell me where Milly is, then I'll be on my way." The cowboy said with a stare at Mary, she hid it well, but to a man like Jesse, she was screaming in panic.

"Sir, I think you should leave." Thatch said, moving closer to Jesse, readying his fist.

"Mary, just tell me where she is, I just want to talk, I'd rather not have to break your son's nose." Jesse said, without a hint of joking.

"Why I…" Thatch started, right before Mary cut him off.

"She's at the market, hitting the ships before they go to Beacon, now get out of my bar." Mary said quickly, Jesse tipped his hat as he got up. Thatch stared daggers at the man as he readied to open a door, only to spy something on Jesse's finger.

"Tell, did your wife divorce you yet?" Thatch yelled, prompting Jesse to stop his hand right where it was. Mary gasped in disbelief, she knew how much Jesse had cared for Meryl but Thatch didn't.

"Did your father ever show back up to see what a stinking cur he had spawned?" Jesse said as he walked out, leaving Thatch gasping for air…right before Mary smacked him.

"What?" Thatch groaned, the blow had rung across the room.

"Don't you know who that is?" Mary yelled, her anger evident. Thatch shook his head no, "That was Jesse Stampede, the one who was responsible for the July Plant Massacre."

"…and he's just walking around!?" Thatch said, his shock evident.

"The charges were dropped, but that doesn't matter. What matter is that you just insulted his wife…who died a few months ago…You're lucky he didn't kill you." Mary whispered as she suddenly hugged her son, but, deep down, she knew she was lying to herself. Jesse Stampede, no matter how much she hated him, was not capable of harming her son or Milly…

 **At the docks…**

Many people would ask for help when carrying about three medium crates of food, two smaller crates of spirits, and a huge minigun, but most people weren't Milly Wolfwood. She was a tall woman, about six foot, had brown hair, wore a yellow dress, and sauntered down the street like she was going for a simple stroll.

"Nice brand," Jesse's voice dropped her out of her thought, "Bit expensive for my taste."

"Jesse!" Milly yelled, dropping the crates and rushing at the man, picking him up in a bar hug.

"Milly…Need…Air…" Jesse gasped before the woman set her down.

"Jesse, it's so good to see you again! It's been so long! Mary will be…" Milly started gushing about various happy things that made Jesse laugh, it had been too long since he had talked to her.

"Hey, Milly, sorry to cut this short, do you still have that key I gave you?" Jesse said, earning a grin from Milly.

"Of course I do, you said guard it with my life, so it hasn't left my person." The woman said with a grin as she reached into her shirt and pulled out a key.

"Thanks Milly," Jesse said as he got looked down the road, "Hey, I've got to go, want to catch up after the festival is over?"

"But that's so far away…" Milly said with a pout.

"I know, but business is business, hey…since I haven't been home in a while, how is the house?" The bounty hunter asked, getting a laugh from the woman.

"Oh, you know Roberta," Milly said with a grin, "She wouldn't let that place fall to ruin if she died."

"Sounds about right, but…seriously, Milly?" Jesse said, getting the woman to stare him dead in the eye, "Thanks, I'll catch up later."

As Jesse walked away, he could hear a random television talking about the next fight, Rick and Alex VS Beowulf and Lancelot.

 **Back at the Arena…**

"While the combatants ready themselves, let's analyze them, shall we?" Oobleck said with gusto as the screen lit up with a CBC logo.

"First up, Beowulf's fight with the young Ruby Rose." Port Said as the screen showed the CBC arena. Beowulf and Ruby got on stage, Beo with his small blade and Ruby with her scythe.

"Didn't know I'd get to fight you little rose," Beowulf said with a grin, "But I can't say I'm not happy to face such a well-known opponent."

"Oh…hush you." Ruby said, but her face showed that she was happy that the comment had been made.

"Don't think that means I'll be holding back." Beo said, earning another laugh from the red head.

"I wouldn't dream of it." The scythe wielder said as the bell rang, signaling the beginning of the match.

 **Insert "Built For War," by Megedeth…**

Beowulf charged forward, slamming his weapon down in an arc. Ruby smirked, she could dodge that in her sleep, as she leapt back and followed up with a slash of her own. Beowulf, with speed that betrayed his size, quickly blocked and pushed the red head back. Ruby broke the engagement and ran around the arena, she figured that she couldn't beat him in strength, so she had to use a different strategy.

She suddenly ran in, using a gun blast that raked the blade across the Vikings chest, before leaping up and kicking Beowulf in the face. The giant staggered back, opening himself up for Ruby to slash at him again, slowly driving him towards the center of the stage. The giant realized what she was planning at that moment, and laughed…he had to admit, that was clever.

Ruby got him right where she wanted him, she leapt back readying her semblance. Beowulf laughed again as he readied his blade, not wavering in the slightest. Ruby yelled a way cry as she surged forward, ready to cut Beowulf down to size. She got him across the chest, before reaching the other side of the arena and pushing off, attempting to keep a constant motion of slashing.

Her second slash…didn't go through at all, Beowulf blocked it, not losing momentum, Ruby tried again. Beowulf blocked that one, a third, a fourth, a fifth, and finally a sixth before lashing out and backhanding Ruby across the stage. The red head didn't give up as she got to her feet and rushed again, only for the giant of the man to grab her, slam the pommel of his sword into her, and throw her across the arena. The buzzer sounded, signaling the end of the match.

"Hey, don't feel bad," Beowulf said as he offered his hand to the young girl, who seemed disappointed, "I've got about six years of experience and armor to back me up, you did well. Be proud of that, you'll get me next time…"

 **End Song…**

"And that was the match that Beowulf fought against Ruby Rose, the leader of team RWBY." Port said, his excitement showing.

"We've all seen the fight with Rick Grimmes VS Nora Valkyrie, Rick's going to have to pull off something insane to defeat his opponents. Luckily for him, insane is his middle name!" Oobleck's pun made most cringe.

"But let's not forget Lancelot and Alex, Lancelot, the trained knight who defeated wyvern Grimm all those years ago with his king, Artoria." Port said with enough gusto to hide his disappointment.

"And then we have Alex, the mad chemist of ROSA, that boy is bound to have some aces up his sleeve that even Lancelot's armor is going to have a hard time against." Oobleck said quickly.

"And it looks like our fighters and arena are ready, shall they begin?" Port's voice silenced the crowd, the arena was a mixture of a rocky mountain and a destroyed city.

 **Insert "Dangerous but Worth the Risk," Ratt…**

"Plan 4295 4855," Rick said as the bell went off.

"Got it!" Alex yelled as he notched an arrow and fired at Lancelot, sending the person back into the city part, the fox followed them as Beowulf and Rick locked eyes.

"Between us then?" The Viking said with a grin.

"Damn straight." The psychopath said as he readied his ax, the two locked eyes…then surged forward to the crowds cheer for blood. The two locked blades, Rick's axe vs Beowulf's smaller sword, as they circled. Beowulf clearly held the advantage in strength, but Rick's mind had a few tricks up his sleeve. The psycho dove to the side, performing a roundhouse kick to the man's side, Beowulf wasn't expecting the move as he flinched allowing Rick to realign himself.

"Good trick," Beowulf said out loud, "Any way you could show me how to do that?"

"Sorry buddy, you're a tad too big." Rick said with a laugh, earning the crowds laughter as well.

"Ah, that's the big problem, built like a truck, can practilly throw one, but can't move like a bike." Beo said with a sigh.

"Ah, don't worry," Rick said as he rushed in, "You've got other ways to beat me."

As that was going on, Alex combed through the ruins, searching for his prey. Leaping from rooftop to rooftop, he stopped as he suddenly heard the roar of an engine. He looked down to see Lancelot riding their motorcycle, ramping up to the roof. Alex yelped as he narrowly dodged the lance, he notched an arrow and launched it. The arrow merely glanced off the armor, leaving Alex in quite the pickle.

"Uh…hi?" The fox said before the bike's tire squealed as thy surged forward, launching Lancelot at the fox once again. Alex let loose a bunch of curses as he leapt off the building onto the street, and into the black knight's domain. He whirled around to see that Lancelot was charging him once again, this time, however, Alex smirked. He knocked two arrows and fired them, as they flew apart, the rope between the two could be seen clearly. The tight quarters of the streets prevented Lancelot from dodging, so the black knight's arms were pinned to their torso.

Alex simply moved out of the way, allowing the bike to fall. It moved towards the stage, but Lancelot scrambled up, snapping the bolo rope apart. The black knight looked at the bike, right before an arrow came through and covered it in ice. Lancelot looked at the lance on the ground, without the bike or a wide area it was useless. However, you don't get to known as the greatest fighter in all the lands by letting such a small thing get in your way.

Lancelot reached down and drew a blade, this one was blue in the sunlight, its handle sheathed in gold, this was Excalibur. The mighty sword of King Artoria, the one gifted to her by the lady of the lake, the one that could cut anyone down to size. Lancelot looked at the archer in pity, only for a fire arrow to hit the ground and cover the area in flames.

Alex knocked another arrow, his strategy required precision, but this was merely an attempt to distract the one in the armor. He know what that armor was made out of, Black Iron from the hills of Camelot, a small province in Atlas. It was heavy, durable enough to take a hit from a dragon, but most importantly…it completely nullified all heat, things like dragon's breath, super-heated blades…and normal flames as well.

The eyes of the helmet, the only part with any tech in it, flashed as Lancelot surged forward, grabbing a large piece of stone. Alex let his arrow fly, only for Lancelot to dive under it and throw that stone. The fox cursed as the rock barely missed him, the black knight closing the distance. Alex was being pushed back, Lancelot wouldn't let up swing his sword at him, not giving him any time to grab an arrow.

At that point, Rick and Beowulf leapt back. Both breathing heavily, Rick was definitely worse for wear however.

"Goddamned armor." Rick muttered as he struggled to stand, Beowulf laughed.

"Aye, but what about your semblance? I know you haven't used it, maybe it would tip the odds in your favor?" Beo said with a laugh.

"Probably, but not today." Rick said, as he got up, only to have a splitting pain burst into his skull.

 _Butcher, now is NOT the time!_ Rick screamed internally.

 _This isn't me, someone's fucking with us._ The Butcher said, his voice angry and concerned.

"Are you all right?" Beowulf asked, putting down his blade. Genuine concern was written on his face.

"Yeah, yeah I'm good…" Rick said, the pain subsiding and Emerald grabbed her head, in pain and shock. It was like trying to control four people ate once.

"All right then, time to finish this." Beowulf said, his face still knotted in concern. That's when an explosion filled the air, both fighters whirled around to see a single black helmet land between them. Beowulf's eyes suddenly widened as he took off, leaving Rick alone. Beowulf rushed to Lancelot's side, quickly covering up the black knight's face.

"We forfeit! Turn those cameras off!" Beowulf yelled, both Port and Oobleck stared at each other before ordering the cameras shut off and showing…a CBC fight between Mary Grimmes and Ruby Rose. The screen showed the pair as they squared off.

 **End Music…**

"You're weak, I can already tell." Mary said as she readied her back pack, Ruby readied herself as well. She was going to wipe the smug grin off of that bitches face, Ruby was done letting her insult Rick behind his back. The buzzer sounded, prompting the pair to start. Mary's backpack suddenly exploded, sending out various thin wires. Ruby leapt back, she couldn't even see the wires.

Rick's sister smiled as she pulled on a set of white gloves, and started twiddling her fingers. Ruby was suddenly pulled back by invisible tethers, rag dolling her around, sending her into the ground. She could feel the wires trying to wrap around her, preventing her from moving, but Ruby was nothing if not persistent. She focused, letting her aura shield her, suddenly, she didn't feel the wires around her. She looked around, and giggled. These wires, they might be invisible…but cutting through Aura was a different story all together.

She grabbed her scythe, whirling around to cut all of the wires around her. Mary's face split into a snarl, as she readied more wires. Ruby simply surged forward, the wires snapping as she neared Mary. A good slash of her weapon sent Mary flying back, only to be caught by her own wires. Mary cursed as she tried to break free, only for Ruby to fire a round point black, sending her into the red.

Mary fell to the floor, her eyes actually brimming with tears of anger. Ruby whooped as she pumped her fist into the air, not noticing Mary grabbing a dagger from her bag. No one humiliates her, no one got to…she didn't have time to finish that thought as Rick leapt into the arena and got in-between her and Ruby. Mary groaned, damn him, damn that boy to hell…

Back at the real world, Beowulf and Lancelot had run into a prep room, both breathing heavily.

"So…forgetting this?" Alex's voice made the pair jump, giving him clear view of the blonde…woman in the black armor, "My lady Artoria, a pleasure."

"You can't tell anyone about." The woman spoke, her voice sounding dignified like a king.

"I'm not who you need to worry about, all those people, and the people at home? You didn't show them enough to make them suspicious…the people in Camelot?" Alex said with a pause, "They'll be coming."

The two stared into each other's eyes, only to notice that Alex was walking out of the room…with his bow and arrows still on him.

"What are you going to do with those?" Artoria asked.

"I'm going hunting." Alex said as he walked out.

 **Meanwhile…**

"Huh, that was odd." Rick muttered as he exited the arena, Micca and Emily at his sides.

"Hey, you won the match, that's something." Emily said with a scowl.

"Yeah…but I'd rather have won honorably than by forfeit." Rick said with a sigh, cracking his neck as he looked around.

"Hey, I know what will cheer you up, let's go to the fairgrounds." Micca said, grabbing both Emily and Rick and dragging them off. Richard joined them as they passed him and Velvet, whom he was politely chatting with. After Coco stopped threatening to beat him within an inch of his life, the two managed to maintain their friendship.

"Got to go, me and Yatsuhashi want to go over some things before tomorrow." Velvet called as she left, leaving Richard to follow the group. Micca lead them to a comic book stall, immediately perking Rick up.

"Tell me my good sir," Rick said to the owner, a man with a mustache and glasses, "Would you happen to have World War Hulk or Berserk?"

"Kid, of course I do, that'll be 50 lien." The man said, holding out his hand. Rick smiled, put his money into said hand, and walked away with his friends and his new reading material.

"I'm thirsty, let's get a pint." Richard said prompting the friends to walk over a nearby tent, it was a nice set up. A temporary bar with a TV for the matches, it was still fairly early in the day, so the crowd wasn't thick. However, that only made team LWTJ more visible to the group.

"Pull up a chair, the next match is about to start," Teddy said as Richard and Rick went to the bar, "Gonna be a good one, EMAD's fighting."

"As in those bastards who knocked you out last time?" Richard called out, getting a laugh from Teddy.

"The same one, only this time, their fighting Mary Grimmes and her lackey." Leo said with a grin as he sipped his pint.

"Gonna be a short fight," Rick said as he brought his group their drinks, "Mary might be a good tactician, shite fighter."

"I can attest to that much." Emily said as she started sipping, the buzzer cutting off any thought she might have had. Rick, not caring too much, pulled out Berserk and got to reading the latest issues of Berserk, he had gotten behind and had to catch up. After a short read, a hand broke him out of his stupor.

"What? What's going on?" Rick asked, only for Richard to point at the screen. Rick immediately leaped to his feet, on the screen, someone was laying down on the ground, bleeding profusely.

"What happened?" Rick yelled, seeing that Mary was standing behind the wounded woman, who was of Asian descent, with a bloody dagger.

"Mary just stabbed her in the back, but…her aura wasn't up. That blade couldn't cut through butter." Richard said as he got to his feet. The paramedics arrived on the scene, putting the girl onto a stretcher and dragging her off. Mary just stared at the blade, a stunned look on her face, but Rick knew that look all too well…this wasn't an accident.

 **An hour later…**

Rick paced outside the medical room, he was angry at Mary for this. Of course, everyone thought it was an accident, everyone just thought that the girl, whose name he had discovered was Allison, had put down her Aura at the wrong time. The psycho's fist clenched, this wasn't the first time Mary had done this, but the real question was why? Mary had been disqualified from the games because of this, why would she do that?

Rick's thoughts were interrupted as the door opened and two people came out, a teen looking like a pirate and a woman dressed in purple blouse.

"How is she?" Rick asked, getting a strange look from the pirate.

"Fine, why do you ask? Who are you?" The pirate asked.

"That's…Rick Grimmes, we watched him fight Beowulf Gras," The woman said, getting ready to hold out her hand in greeting. That's when Thatch punched Rick in the face, "Thatch!"

"You have some guts to show your face around here," Thatch said, punching Rick again, "After what your sister did."

"Thatch!" The woman ordered, trying to get her teammate under control. He didn't hear her as he punched again, only for Rick to catch the fist. The psycho followed with a hard head butt, sending Thatch back a few steps.

"You done? I came to check on her," Rick said as he cracked his neck, "My sister is a bitch, I wanted to see how bad the damage was."

"Thanks for your concern Rick," The woman held out her hand, "I'm Maria Gaia, a pleasure. The damage isn't too bad."

"There's a but coming, isn't there?" Rick said as he took her hand.

"We decided that it would be more beneficial to go home to rest and heal." Maria said with a sad smile, making Rick sigh.

"Yep, that'll do it. Hey, if it means anything, I'm sorry." The psychopath said earning an earnest smile from Maria.

"It's means something, thanks." The centurion said as she turned around and went back into the room, leaving Rick to wander back to his dorm.

 **Meanwhile…**

"Hello, what have we here?" Caine whispered as he saw the legendary Pyrrha Nikos entering the elevator to Ozpin's office. His rangefinder quickly went up to the office to see Ozpin and Qrow waiting for the girl, "Now what could they be calling her for at this hour?"

His musing was interrupted by an arrow going right through the range finder, the man whirled around to see Alex.

"Sorry to stop your fun, peeping tom." Alex said as he knocked another, ready for combat.

 **At ground level…**

"Now that's only really suspicious." Aedan said as he saw Pyrrha enter the building, something was happening…and he needed to know what it was.


	8. The Start of Hell

**OK, quick note, something I completely forgot to mention in the last chapter, team EMAD is a creation by my friend and associate, Zivon96. He let me borrow them to allow me to soothe my troubled mind about potentially messing with the canon (before you ask, I'm just a paranoid bastard about that kind of stuff.) Also, if you don't know, Zivon96 is also writing a story about RWBY called Fading Light and, my personal favorite of the two, its sequel Light Extinguished which features not one, not two, but four of the characters of the Faces universe (and with my offer of he can use any of them, potentially more of them.)**

 **Anyway, beyond that, on with the show…**

"Ah, my old friend," Caine Longshot said as he put his hands up, "Think you can hit me this time?"

"Oh, trust me I can, you don't have your rifle this time." Alex said as his grip tightened his bow.

"I don't need a rifle to do my job…" The man said, his monocle glinting in the sunlight, shining it right into Alex's eyes. In one instant, Alex was blinded, right before he narrowly dodged the silenced shot of a pistol. Caine laughed as he fired his weapon, keeping the fox on his toes as he dodged behind a pillar, "I'm afraid I must bid you adieu, my dangerous prey."

Caine ran over and jumped off the side of the building, grabbing ahold of what appeared to be a power line. Alex ran over, smirking as he looked closely at it, a clever ruse…no one would suspect a thing looking at it from a distance. It was a line alright, but not for power, but for climbing between buildings. Alex notched an arrow, his quarry wasn't getting away that easily. He let the arrow fly, cutting the cable and forcing Caine to the ground.

The sniper looked around, no one had seen him land, that was good. Caine looked back up to Alex and smiled, indeed…worthy prey indeed. The sniper melted into a nearby crowd of people, but he knew this fight was not over yet. He had to find his rifle, and then the true hunt could begin.

Alex shoved an arrow into a nearby pillar and rappelled down, landing softly. The fox sniffed the air, unbeknownst to his opponent, he had managed to slip a tracker onto that suit of his. Alex's bow folded into a more concealable state as he slipped it underneath his clothes, he couldn't let anyone see he was armed, lest he draw suspicion to himself…

 **At ROSA's dorm…**

"Rick, he never got home." Owen's nervous tone broke out, they had been getting ready for the next fights when Owen had gotten a message from home.

"That can't be good." The psychopath said, scratching his chin. Shaun had never arrived at home, hadn't sent a message, and, after checking his scroll, Rick couldn't track his scroll.

"Rick, we need to find him, he could be hurt, he could be…" Owen started before Rick cut him off.

"I know, look, we agreed to send me to the finals right?" Rick asked, prompting Owen to nod, "Then go, make sure he's OK. Find him, kick his ass, and get back here."

Owen nodded and took off, ready to find his companion. Rick stared at the wall, a sad look in his eyes. He knew exactly where Shaun was…he could only hope that his friend had succeeded in what he set out to do.

 **At Ozpin's office…**

Aedan listened as Ozpin, Pyrrha, and Qrow talked, his blood starting to boil…This was not good, the way they were talking, the way they carried themselves, the way they looked at Pyrrha, something was wrong. Aedan, putting some of his old skills that Arnold taught him about infiltration, had climbed up the elevator shaft. He had missed the first part of the conversation, but he had figure it out.

However, what made Aedan most suspicious was the talk of the Maidens, it was like something had happened to one of his former students…

 **At the Forest…**

Alex moved through the forest quickly, he was getting close, he knew that he might have only one shot at this. Caine's tracker put him right through a brush, Alex notched an arrow and slowly pushed through. He came to a clearing that…was empty, the fox whirled around, looking for…something, anything. That's when his eyes focused on a hat, Alex didn't need to get close to realize what was in it.

The fox was being played, but that only made it a bit harder for him. Alex leaped back into the woods, his ears listening for the telltale signs of a person, his nose ready for the smell of oil and gunpowder to tip him off, his eyes looking for signs of his hunter.

"I see you're here, excellent," Caine's voice rang out of the trees, "Now the real hunt begins."

"And who's hunting whom?" Alex called out, trying to figure out where the voice was.

"That is the real question, is it not?" The sniper's voice rang out, right before a gunshot followed. The fox narrowly dodged a bullet, the round smashing into a tree. Alex fired an arrow at what he thought was the direction of the shooter, an explosion could be heard.

"I know you're not dead, come out…We don't have to resort to killing each other." Alex called out, his voice carrying far. In truth, Alex didn't really want to fight this man, enough blood had been shed these past few months and the fox was getting tired of it.

"I'm afraid not, my friend, for I am on the hunt," Caine's voice echoed through the forest, "I am hunting the most dangerous game."

"Are you calling me an animal?" Alex said in a joking manner as he dove behind a tree.

"I hate that Faunas are forced to think of themselves as that, they are just as much a part of mankind as I am." The snipers voice called out again, Alex notched another arrow. A sharp crack forced him to spin around and fire an arrow, he could hear it stick into a tree.

"So you're a sympathizer? I'm surprised they let you join, don't they hate humans?" Alex said, slowly looking around.

"I was friends with one of them before they all became violent, such a shame." Caine fired again, this time, hitting a nearby log.

"Why is that?" Alex said back, firing an arrow as he went forward.

"All of this violence merely makes them look worse in the eyes of the common man," The sniper fired again, forcing Alex to leap into the trees, "Such a shame, and when we meet someone who isn't part of the White Fang? Calls of traitors leap from both lips, I do hate seeing them fight."

"So why are you hanging out with them? If you join us, we are sure to have some way to help Faunas as a whole." Alex offered, leaping from tree to tree.

"Alas, no, I'm nothing if not loyal to my friends, but I say you'd be better to focus on the hunt. That bow, mind me asking a few questions about it?" Caine asked, ignoring his own advice.

"Isn't it a little dishonorable to know about your prey in such a manner?" Alex yelled back, jumping back to the ground.

"A quid pro que then? I ask you then you ask me?" Caine replied, firing another shot at Alex's feet.

"Sure, I'll go first," Alex yelled back, firing an arrow at the shooter. Smoke filled the air as the fire took, "What's its make?"

"Custom made, shoot's standard Atlas hollow pointed CAP rounds." Caine's voiced sounded off, prompting Alex to rush forward.

"A bit lacking in the power section, aren't you?" Alex yelled as he found a rocky outcropping, the fire slowly starting to grow behind him.

"You'd be right, I want a challenge first, but for you…your bow, any capabilities or is it purely the arrows that make it unique?" Caine's voice came from the outcropping.

"A little bit of both, my bow can increase its draw weight, the arrows can be a huge boon to this as well. Take for example, this," As Alex said that, he launched an arrow through the rock. The arrow penetrated the stone, hitting some as it went through, "I can pierce armor, cover, and flesh given the right arrows and draw strength."

"My, my, that is quite the weapon, too bad you missed," Caine's voice rang out, a bullet suddenly ran past Alex's cheek. Blood splattered from the wound, making Alex stumble back, "Can you recover from that?"

"Can you see through smoke?" The fox muttered through the pain, shooting an arrow down. Smoke erupted from it, combined with the smoke from the fire, it was almost impossible to see past.

"I can," Caine said maliciously, "Infrared scope."

Caine could see Alex clearly, his form was illuminated in various colors, the sniper fired his weapon. Alex dodged, then fired right back, the arrow hitting the ground in front of Caine. The sniper heard the beeping right as he rolled away, Caine quickly righted himself, but his quarry was gone. The sniper smiled, despite himself, he had one last trick to play. He pulled out a remote and pressed the button, a sniper shot could be heard.

Caine hoisted his rifle, waiting for the next moment, sure enough, Alex's figure suddenly rose up to fire an arrow. The rifle leapt in Caine's hands, the round smashing into the figures face, sending him down. The sniper smiled, it had been a good hunt, but now…now it was time to claim his prize. Caine got to his feet from his sniper position, a tall tree, and climbed down.

Caine moved forward, his silent form not making a sound. He approached the dead body, right before he smiled, whirled around, and fired a round into the nearby trees. A cry of pain was heard as Alex fell down, his ruse discovered.

"Nice trick, ice arrows designed to look like you," Caine Longshot said as he pointed his gun at Alex's now wounded form, "Impressive, but not for the likes of me."

"What are you waiting for, do it." Alex yelled, more out of bravado than anything else. Caine smiled…and lowered his weapon.

"No…you intrigue me, I want to see you get better, get stronger, get craftier, become a true hunter," Caine said with a chucked, right before firing a round into Alex's back of arrows, setting them off, "I bid you goodbye, I hope to see you again soon."

Caine's laughter moved farther and farther away, Alex slammed his fist into the dirt and crawled. Yeah, he was out of tricks, but even despite of all of that…he couldn't deny that he found himself liking this…Caine Longshot. Well, back to Beacon for him, at least he had time to think of a story.

Caine's airship booted up as he got close to it, the ship was parked in a canyon, one of the few places he could avoid detection from Atlas.

"Welcome back sir," The White Fang pilot said as Caine sat down in the back, "How was the scouting mission?"

"Riveting," Caine said as he reached under, pulled a cooler out from underneath the seats. The man set himself to making a martini, "I always enjoy a good hunt."

"Sure sir, anyway, Adam called in, he wants to see you as soon as possible." The pilot said as he maneuvered the ship out of the canyon.

"I can't wait to see him, my old friend, radio ahead that I'm going to be at location Alpha." Caine ordered, getting a chuckle from the pilot.

"Going to see Wun again? If you're not careful, someone might press charges." The pilot said with a chuckle.

"Parental only, besides…that girl is finally getting her head screwed on straight." The sniper said with a smile, happy for Wun.

 **At the Vault…**

"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL IS THIS OZPIN?" Aedan's voice reverberated in the cave like area of the Vault, the five people all whirled around to see the bartender's fire filled eyes.

"Aedan, I can explain…" Ozpin started, only for Aedan to cut him off.

"Oh, I don't doubt that you sick bastard," Aedan yelled before looking at Pyrrha's fear filled eyes, his voice softened at the sight of one of his children in distress, "Pyrrha, leave…I need to have a conversation with these three gentleman and lady."

"But…" Pyrrha started before Ozpin put a hand on her shoulder and nodded, Pyrrha nodded back and walked away. The elevator door closed…and Aedan, fast enough to make Ruby proud, suddenly had Ozpin by the scruff of his suit. Ironwood, reacting like a Hunter, quickly pulled one of his revolvers and pointed it at Aedan's head. The bartender looked over, before, with speed betraying his size and age, grabbed the gun, pistol whipping the general across the face, and pointing it point blank at Ozpin's eye.

"You better have a goddamned explanation for this," Aedan yelled, spittle flying out of his mouth, "Because not only have you lied to me, but you've also been keeping some very important information from me."

"Aedan, calm down," Goodwitch said, pointing her crop at the bartenders head, "We can discuss this like civilized people."

"Shut up!" Aedan yelled, his voice filled with such rage that even Goodwitch took a few steps back, "Don't you've realized what you've done Ozpin? You've put a target on her back! You've filled her head with nonsense, you've put responsibility on her head that she isn't ready for! Just like…just like…"

Aedan let Ozpin fall to the floor, the man gasping for breath. Aedan looked around, his face suddenly softening as it fell on the woman in the pod. He walked over and put his hand on the glass, trying to trace the woman's scarred visage.

"Amber, you were a good student, you were always…Tanya's…favorite," Aedan muttered, his eyes glazing over with the memories, he turned to the four who were left. He looked them all in their faces, his eyes filling with tears, "Ironwood, I should kill you for making this damned machine, Goodwitch, I should beat you for even allowing this on the campus. Qrow, I can't blame you for anything, but…Ozpin."

The director looked up at the bartender.

"If something happens to that girl…I'll be sure to collect yer head." Aedan said, his voice low and dark, right before he stormed out of the building.

 **At the White Fang hideout…**

Caine arrived at location Alpha with a grin on his face, he was still happy from his fight and his grin was infectious. Cruril and Maul were waiting for him, Maul with his normal sneer at the human.

"Adam is waiting for you in the command center." The tiger faunas snarled before storming off, Cruril in tow. Caine shrugged, he had figured out a while back that Maul was more than just one of the poor sods who wanted equality, he actually believed that he was superior to humans in every way. The sniper scoffed at the idea, not because he thought humans were better, but because Maul had missed the entire point of the White Fang, though he wasn't the only one and the number was growing.

Hatred was brewing more and more of them, Caine hated them above all else. The White Fang was supposed to strive for equality, not subjugation. Caine quickly shook these philosophical questions from his head as he strode into the command center, Adam Taurus looked over a map. A rare smile came across his face as Caine strode into the room, Caine was an old friend of Adams. They had practically been raised together, the sniper was one of the rare exceptions to Adams hate.

"Caine," Adam said as the smile quickly vanished, "What do you have to report?"

"That's why I'm here," Caine responded as he sat down at the map table, "The games are getting tighter, security is doubled, making sure that we don't try anything. Standard stuff, though…the robots are a bit much."

"Don't worry about them," Adam said as he looked his friend in the eye, "Did you find what I asked you for?"

"The best places to land? That I did," Caine said as he pointed at the map, "Here, here, and here are some good places, though…if I might ask, what is the cargo?"

"That is nothing you should be concerned about," Adam said as he got to his feet, "Will you be prepared for the attack?"

"Should be, just need some shut eye and ammo." Caine said as he got to his feet.

"Good, you are dismissed." Adam said, Caine nodded and exited the room. The sniper moved his way across the loading docks, doing his best to ignore the snarls that the White Fang gave him. The sniper moved into a hallway, continuing until he came across a door with the name Wun on it. He silently turned the handle and walked, Wun was punching the air in front of her.

However, she wasn't practicing, she was simply pumped up watching reruns of the fights. The Snake punched again, smirking as she did.

"The blonde again? Your favorite?" Caine's voice shocked her out of her stupor, she whirled around, red rising to her cheeks.

"I was uh…observing, you know…in case I have to…" Wun stuttered, before Caine's laugh cut her off.

"It's OK, I know you like her, isn't she your favorite?" The sniper asked, Wun sighed.

"No…that'd be Pyrrha Nikos," Wun's face brightened at the name, "She's so cool! I would give anything to be like her."

"What about the blonde?" Caine asked, getting a smirk from Wun.

"Her too, if I could have her confidence…but she still pales in comparison to Pyrrha, that girl's invincible." Wun said, fangirling out.

"That's my girl," The sniper said as he sat down on her bed, "Hey, have you heard anything about the next stage in the plan?"

"…No, they haven't told me anything," Wun said, the audible pause made Caine's eyebrows rise, "But I snuck into the cargo bay, the section that's cordoned off."

"Oh? And what's on the other side?" Caine said, his own concern growing. The sniper had his own ideas of what was beyond those gates, and they weren't pretty.

"I saw…Grimm, in cargo containers, they were being loaded up. What could they be using them for?" Wun asked, hopeful that the sniper could ease her worry.

"Grimm?" Caine asked, his eyes widening, "Grimm? But that means…"

"What?" Wun asked, her voice filling with dread.

"Adam sent me to scout out suitable cargo locations, ones that would be on the battle field…I thought that he just meant to drop weapons, but…" Caine said, his voice getting darker.

"We can't be dropping the Grimm tomorrow, that'd be insane…right?" Wun asked, her voice filled with fear. The fear of the organization that she fought so hard for going this far…the words of Shaun filled her head, hypocrite. The White Fang fought for equality, they weren't animals, they weren't…monsters.

"I don't know, I honestly don't know…" Caine said, his voice low and dark. Wun could tell he was lying, he knew exactly what he was talking about, but he didn't want to tell her the truth…

 **Back at Beacon…**

"Damn it all to hell…" Rick muttered as he walked through the grounds of Beacon, first Owen finds out about Shaun, second, Pyrrha disappears without a trace, and now this! He could see the men in knight armor standing outside the dorms and he knew exactly what they were here for. Alex had told him what he had seen, and Rick was kind of angry.

"Artoria, please…" Beowulf's pleas were ignored as the young woman, her face visible to all, her blonde hair and intense blue eyes glowing in the wind, walked slowly away from him. The big man tried to put his hand on her shoulder in a desperate attempt to stop her advance, three of the knights rushed forward, drawing their weapons. The Viking soon had two blades and an ax at his throat.

"Stand down!" Artoria ordered, the three knights looked at their queen, right before sheathing their weapons. They stepped back into the line, but Artoria looked at Beowulf, her eyes hard, "Beowulf, I thank you for protecting me, but the charade is over."

"That's horseshit and you know it," Beowulf yelled back, his rage showing, "You don't belong with these fools, you belong with us, with team BLCP!"

"Beowulf, don't make this harder than it already is." The queen ordered, her voice carrying the weight of command. Rick was impressed, he never imagined her to be so…scary actually.

"Artoria…" Beowulf said, his eyes filling with tears, "Don't leave…please…I'm begging you."

"My dear Beo," Artoria said, her façade finally cracking under his gaze, "I'm sorry, but we knew this day would come…"

"I don't care!" Beowulf yelled, cutting her of, "This damned monarchy, this…dead way of life…you can't, your place is here, fighting. Not staying on a throne and dying of old age."

"That's enough…" A strong and powerful male voice cut the two off, a man with a thick, brown beard walked down the line, "Artoria, it is time to go."

"Father…" Artoria began before Beowulf cut her off.

"That is not your decision to make." The Viking said in a threatening tone of voice.

"I do not listen to a man descended from savages." The man said as he reached down to draw his blade.

"Savages? You would call the man responsible for your lands safety a savage?" Beowulf said, his rage dying a big in the process, "You wouldn't know savage if it bit you in the arse."

"Enough, Artoria, it's time to go home." The man said, grabbing Artoria and starting to drag her off.

"Artoria," Beowulf's voice stopped the woman, who pulled her arm out of her father's grasp, "Please…don't leave us…don't leave…me."

"What is he going on about?" The man with the beard said as Artoria's eyes filled with tears, she flung her father away and grabbed the Viking, with a smooth, quick notion, she pulled his lips to hers.

"I'm sorry…" She said in a small, weak voice as she pulled away and walked towards the group of knights, leaving just Rick and Beowulf alone.

"Hey," Rick said, putting his arms around Beo's shoulder, "Want to hit the fight with me? Might take your mind off things."

"No," Beowulf said as he shrugged Rick's arm off, "I…I need some time alone."

Rick nodded as he watched the big man walk away, the psychopath sighing as he walked toward the festival. He needed some good action now…

 **At the festival, a few hours later…**

Rick choked on his words, Yang Xiao Long had just crippled Mercury Black…people were screaming, booing, the prick on the floor was screaming in pain, wild accusations spilled from his lips. Rick didn't notice, but Aedan's eyes widened with rage from the announcer booth, he had meant to converse with Oobleck and Port on the matter at hand. Aedan looked at the girl, looked at the boy on the ground, his old experience was screaming at him.

Aedan had seen what combat does to someone, had seen what happens when someone gets injured…and he'd seen what kind of reaction it would get. The bartender knew this trick well…and he was not happy to see it being used. Rick, on the other hand, was grabbing his head in unbelievable pain, visions of him grabbing Mercury's head and bashing it into the ground till it was nothing more than a bloody pulp smashing into his mind.

The people screamed as the medical help scrambled onto the stage dragging the teen off into the back stage, Rick watched as they carried him off. As soon as they were out of sight the psychopath got to his feet and took off, Micca looked at him as he ran. Something was wrong with Rick, and that made her even more concerned…

As the medical team loaded up Mercury, they didn't notice the man in the trench coat watching them from afar…and he was not happy.

 **A few hours later…**

"…we wouldn't want someone to see you on your feet now and make this all for naught, would we?' Cinder's voice echoed throughout the warehouse.

"Can do…" Mercury said as he set back to his leg, a smirk on his face. Cinder and Emerald started to make their way out of the building, happy that their work was done.

"Nice legs," The voice made the pair stop dead in their tracks, they slowly turned to see a man in a trench coat with a gun to Mercury's head, "Reminds me of...your father."

"Jesse Stampede," Cinder said with a grin as she walked towards the man, "I was wondering if you'd show up."

"Did you know?" Jesse said as he spat off to the side, "Do I even need to ask if you'll surrender?"

"I think you know the answer…" Cinder said, her confidence was showing brighter than the sun.

"Yeah, I figured as much," Jesse said as he suddenly whirled around and pistol whipped an invisible female, "Nice try Emerald, but I'm far better than that."

The green haired girl fell to the floor with shocked eyes, right before Mercury tried to kick the man while he was distracted. The cowboy merely shifted his weight, grabbing Mercury's leg. The teen's eyes widened in shock as Jesse grabbed his head and slammed it into the table.

"Emerald, Mercury, leave…I'll handle this." Cinder said with a confident smile, the two nodded and promptly split. Jesse didn't even bat an eye as they left the area, he calmly put a smoke in his mouth and lit it.

"Shall we begin?" Cinder said in a sultry tone, to which Jesse smiled…and drew.

 **Insert "This is Gonna Hurt," Six A.M….**

Jesse fired his weapon, to which Cinder nimbly dodged, but the crow smiled…he had expected. Cinder moved behind a set of cargo containers, she summoned her bow. The woman smiled as she readied herself, this was going to be fun.

Cinder rolled out of the cover of the cargo, firing her arrows as she went. Jesse…simply shot them out of the air, Cinder rolled behind more cove. This time, however, he didn't wait for her, the cowboy leaped forward. Cinder's eyes widened as she dodged his bullets, Jesse was a crafty one, she had to admit. The bounty hunter hit the ground, rolling behind cover. He opened the top of his revolver, it was a speed loader, and reloaded.

Both fighters stood still, both waiting for the other to make a move. Cinder smiled as she fired on arrow, readying another. Jesse, taking the bait, leaped out to take advantage of her brief period of unarmedness. Cinder smiled as she let another arrow loose, only to have Jesse dodge that and pull out his second revolver and start firing. Cinder, once again, was forced to dodge behind a crate.

This time, Jesse had a plan, he knew he had to play to her weaknesses. She was a nimble one…time to use that against her. Jesse leapt above the crate, firing his bullets down. Cinder dodged back…only to be hit by Jesse's other gun, he had forced her into his fire. She was taken aback by the lead, Jesse landed and emptied his cylinders into her.

"You've got to be kidding me…" Jesse yelled as he saw his bullets do nothing…Cinders glass made armor that was nearly unshatterable. The bounty hunter dove behind a stack of crates, Cinder smiled…she loved breaking her opponents, "Got some fancy armor eh?"

Cinder stopped in her tracks, was this bravado? What was he thinking about?

"Got my own special trick for that…" Jesse said, Cinder could hear the clicking of a hammer being drawn back. The woman knew instantly what Jesse had brought out, she dove behind a cargo container that she knew was filled with Atlas Mechs, she summoned her armor, she tried to dodge…the sound of the gun being fired was more akin to that of a cannon shot.

Cinder felt the impact as it launched her back, slamming her into the wall, shattering nearby windows. The woman fell to her knees, a nasty bruise on her stomach. Jesse lined up another shot, but that's when a piece of glass fell just right…the light allowing Jesse to see Cinder's back. Jesse's eyes widened as he saw the symbol.

"That's…oh crap." The crow said, right as Cinder's eyes glowed. Her power being summoned to its current full potential, the glass, the rubble, the spare bits of metal all formed around her in a deadly looking spear. Jesse didn't waste time…he whirled around and shot the wall, shattering it, before jumping out.

He landed on his feet, right before dodging the massive spear sent at him. The crow could hear the sounds of approaching engines…back up for her. He looked around, he had one option left…he turned the other way and ran for his life.

"Ozpin," The man muttered as he ran away, "We've got some serious crap to talk about tomorrow…"

 **End music…**

 **At the White Fang headquarters…**

Wun stared at the screen in shock, no…no that wasn't…that couldn't be right. The snake fell to her knees, how could this happen? Why would Yang do this? Why would she…that's when it hit her, that green haired bitch. She could create illusions, couldn't she? Shaun's words came back to her, Hypocrite. This…she always hated when people manipulated Faunas to do something like this, she hated when people jumped on a bandwagon.

Hypocrite…all those times she criticized her sister for going back, all those times she killed someone to promote the cause, all those times she saw people get hurt…hypocrite. Wun stared at her hands, she…she had to stop this. The White Fang, Cinder, all those people…they had to pay. Her door opened suddenly, making the girl jump.

Maul came in, hooting and hollering. Wun could smell the booze on his breath, his eyes glazed with it as well.

"Now that that _bitch_ is out of the way, I've been looking to celebrate…mind joining for the night?" The tiger said, a drunken grin on his face.

"No…get out." Wun ordered, she was done, with him, with these people. She was going to get out.

"No? No?" Maul chuckled, "Maybe you didn't hear…I'm due for a promotion, if your nice…I might give you a chance to move higher up."

"No," Wun said back, getting to her feet. Maul was one of them, one of the people who were responsible for all those people getting hurt. "You…and the White Fang…can go to Hell!"

"What? What did you just say?" Maul slurred out, trying to grab the girl. Wun screamed and one of her crossbows blades came out, she jammed it into his side. The tiger yelled as he fell back, the snake took off outside the room. She ran for the exit to the warehouse, she could feel the fresh air.

"Stop that bitch!" Mauls voice rang out, the dock workers instantly pulling out their weapons and blocking off Wun's escape.

"What's going on here?" Adam's voice silenced any commotion that was still happening. The masked man walked out of the command center, his face in a scowl. Maul limped over to him, his side bleeding profusely.

"This bitch attacked me…right after saying the White Fang could go to hell." The tiger said, his voice carrying across the room. Adam's eyes snapped to Wun, he had suspected her for a while now…that she might turn. He was disappointed he was right, she was one of his best assassins.

"Wun Sol, I hoped you wouldn't have followed your sister…seems the apple doesn't fall far from the tree." Adam said, pulling out his katana. Wun fell back a few steps, she had seen that weapon at work before. The leader of the White Fang roared as he surged forward, ready to slice the girl in two. Wun…merely closed her eyes, she knew she didn't have a chance.

That's when a gunshot sounded and Adam's yelp of surprise pulled everyone out of their awe. They all looked around, trying to find the shooter.

"I'm sorry, old friend, but I can't let you do that." Caine Longshot's voice echoed throughout the room, it was on the intercoms.

"Caine, what is the meaning of this?" Adam yelled, his rage apparent.

"That girl is under my protection, Wun…go, I'll cover you…this is goodbye." Caine said, right before three shots fired and three White Fang guarding the exit fell down dead. Wun started running, some tried to stop her, but then a bullet silenced them. Adam whirled around, his eyes stopping as he saw a flash. The faunas leapt up to the platform, his rage showing.

"Why?" He asked simply, Caine turned to face his old friend.

"Because…she's right, you're a bunch of hypocrites. You, in particular, are the worst." The sniper said, his voice filled with sorrow.

"I'll kill you!" Adam yelled, his continence of cool headedness gone.

"You won't get the chance…" Caine said…right before pulling out a gun and pressing it to his head, "Hail the White Fang."

Adam looked away as Caine pulled the trigger, he instead focused on the fleeing form of Wun. The faunas grabbed the sniper rifle that was near him and sighted it in, one shot…and she was done. That's when something appeared in front of him, a man with a covered face and yellow eyes. The man grabbed the gun out of Adam's hands, and teleported away, appearing in front of Wun. He grabbed her as well and disappeared into the night, leaving Adam alone…

 **At Beacon…**

Rick stared at his mirror, Alex had decided to stay with RWBY as Yang was being processed and Owen was still in Vale. Apparently, Owen's card had messed up and he had to borrow someone else's scroll to contact him, perfect timing. Rick's head felt like it was in a vice.

"That was _bullshit!_ " The Butcher screamed as he took control.

"I know, but we can't do anything about it!" Rick yelled back, his eyes wide with hate.

"Oh…I can, I'll track down that prick, and nail his testicles to a wall!" The Butcher yelled.

"We don't know where he is!" Rick objected.

"…I KNOW!" The Butcher screamed, making Rick slam his head into the mirrors glass. A small gash was formed in his forehead.

"Rick? Are you OK?" Micca's voice cut through the air like a knife through flesh.

"Crap," Both the Butcher and Rick muttered, "She's here."

"Rick?" Micca asked again, opening the door, only to gasp at the gash.

"Micca!" Rick said, his voice deep and hungry, "Don't worry, I…slipped."

"OK…hey, are you all right?" Micca asked, grabbing Rick and leading him to his bed.

"Yeah, fine," Rick said, "One of my friends is in the crapper and I'm stuck here doing nothing!"

"Rick…she just has battlefield fatigue, I saw it all the time in my days in the White Fang…this stuff happens. You can't change that." Micca said, putting a comforting hand on Rick's shoulder.

"Battle field fatigue? That's bull crap!" Rick yelled, jumping to his feet, "Did you not see her positioning? Her eyes? She didn't have battlefield fatigue! I could prove it too! If Rick would let me out and…"

"Rick would let you out?" Micca asked, jumping to her feet, "What…I'm not talking to Rick right now…am I?"

"Oh, he's in here, just trying to claw his way out. He think's I'll hurt you," The Butcher said with a grin, "I won't…just as he loves you, so do I."

"While I'm flattered, who are you?" Micca asked, her hands balling into fist, ready to beat Rick out of this.

"Call me…the Butcher, that's what he calls me." The Butcher replied, laughing as he suddenly fell onto his bed.

"The Butcher of Men…" Micca whispered, "What do you want?"

"I just want to help my friends, but since things have gone south…I'm kind in a stump here," The Butcher yelled, "So…I'm going to let Rick out, and go to sleep…nice talking with you."

Rick suddenly slammed his fist into his head, Micca stood over him, tapping her foot expectantly.

"So…you really do have voices in your head?" Micca asked, clearly concerned.

"Yeah…let me guess, you no longer want me?" Rick said in a joking tone, only for Micca to slap him.

"How could you keep that a secret from me?" Micca yelled, grabbing Rick by the shoulders.

"Well…tell me how that would go, 'hey Micca, I've got a voice inside my head trying to take over 'sometimes." Rick replied sarcastically.

"You…You're right," Micca said, she actually couldn't think of a good comeback, "Next time…tell me about something like this OK?"

"I'll try…" Rick said as he laid his head back.

"Hey…I still love you, we'll deal with Yang tomorrow, OK?" Micca asked, earning a nod from Rick, "OK, I'm going to bed."

"Micca," A higher pitched Rick voiced stopped her dead in her tracks, this…wasn't Rick not the Butcher, "Stay…Rick needs you now, more than ever."

"O…Ok." Micca answered back, she had dealt with enough crap today and was ready to be done with tonight. The snake slithered into the bed next to Rick, and turned off the lights…unsure of what tomorrow would bring…


	9. Deceit, Pain, and Death

Rick woke up with a yawn, his head pounding, his heart racing, it felt like a bad hangover. The psychopath stretched his arm out…only for it to brush against a body. He turned to see…Micca, his girlfriend, in his bed. His yelp of surprise was loud enough to wake her, on top of his fall out of the bed.

"Micca!" Rick yelled, "You…my bed…me…what the hell is going on? Did we do something last night? Am I about to be skinned alive?!"

"Rick, calm down, nothing like that happened," Micca said with a glare, "But…I did meet some of your…friends."

"What? Aren't we friends with the same people?" Rick asked, clearly nervous, "Speaking of which, I need to check on team RWBY….uh…see ya!"

"Rick, I met the Butcher, we need to talk." Micca said in a firm tone, only for Rick to ignore her and rip open the door.

"Crap!" Rick yelped suddenly, prompting Micca to look beyond him to see…Wun. The small girl fell into Rick's arms, she looked pretty rough.

"Wun!" Micca yelled, running over and putting her hand on her sister's body, sighing with relief as she felt a pulse.

"She's out cold, we need to get her to the med bay." Rick said, picking up the small girl. Micca nodded, the Butcher could wait, she needed to attend to her sister. Her and Rick started off towards the infirmary, not stopping at team EMBR's door despite the yelling.

"Why the hell didn't you tell me about this earlier?!" Richard yelled, grabbing Ben and shoving the ninja into the wall.

"Richard, calm down, he probably has a good reason," Emily said before she stared daggers at Ben, "Right?"

"What good would it have done?" Ben yelled, shoving the monk off of him, "I wasn't able to find any evidence of what they were doing!"

"And you couldn't have recorded their plans? That's pretty damning evidence!" Richard yelled, only for Ben to shake his head.

"No, they were too clever, they never gave any indication of their next move." Ben said back, his voice faltering.

"So…that's it? We could have helped! We could have done something! Then, Yang wouldn't be being hung out to dry like yesterday's laundry!" Richard yelled, his face red with rage

"You don't think I don't know that?!" Ben yelled, his voice becoming more akin to a sob, "If I had acted, if I had tried harder, I might have been able to prevent this! One of my friends is being slandered, and I know that she's innocent!"

"Both of you, shut up," Emily ordered, prompting the two to look back at her, "I know that you're both worried but we can't lose our heads, that's what they want. We need to figure out what we need to do, Ben…tell us everything you know."

"Si, where to begin?" Ben said as his voice lowered to a whisper, not perceptible to the person in the hallway listening to a certain general talking to a certain team.

"…You are disqualified from the tournament, I'm sorry," Ironwood said as he left the room, his guards following him as he regarded the man in front of him. He closed the door, "Aedan…"

"That's horseshite and you know it." Aedan said walking towards the general.

"Aedan, I know how attached you are to team RWBY, but Ms. Xiao Long attacked a student and…" Ironwood started before Aedan suddenly surged forward and grabbed the general by the coat.

"Hostilities detected." The robots with Ironwood called, before the general raised his hand.

"It's all right, stand down." He ordered, the robots doing as such.

"Listen here, _general,"_ Aedan said in a threatening tone, "I'm getting sick and tired of being lied too, being led on, and watching people suffer because of whatever Ozpin's and you are planning."

"Why are you blaming me for this?" Ironwood asked, slightly confused.

"It don't take a genius to figure out who that boy was or that girl," Aedan hissed, "You came to protect the people and you know what? You are failing, and I'm getting a tad testy."

"Aedan, a lot is at stake her, but I assure you, I'm doing everything I can." Ironwood answered, Aedan's face looked him over.

"Then you're even weaker than I thought," Aedan said as he let the general go and walked away, but before he rounded the corner he stopped and looked back, "Also, if I ever hear you talk to team RWBY like that again? I'll rip your head off."

The general nodded as the bartender walked away, his step echoing. Aedan stopped as he walked though, as he saw four men clad in plate armor blocking the hallway. The bartender didn't need to look at their emblem to know where they were from.

"I'm sorry sir, but you'll have to turn around." One of the knights said as he held up his hand.

"I'm just passing through," Aedan said as he looked past the knights to the empty hallway, "I won't be any trouble."

"I'm sorry sir but we can't allow you to…" The knight said as the door flew open and a regal man came out, followed by blonde woman in black armor.

"Artoria, please," Beowulf's voice seemed to fall on deaf ears as the woman continued to walk on, "You don't need to do this."

"Sir, I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave." One of the other knights said, his hand tightening on his blade. Beowulf simply pushed him aside like a fly, the knight eyes winding with shock as the huge mans might was shown.

"Don't walk away, we've got this room because we're joining Beacon, you're joining Beacon. You're going to protect all of the kingdoms, not just one." Beowulf said, trying to grab the woman's shoulder. The regal suddenly whirled around and punched Beowulf in the chest, his eyes on fire.

"Outsiders do not get the right to touch the king." The man said, his voice filled with malice.

"Father," Artoria said sharply, prompting the man to look at her, "Stand back, he was my companion for the last three years."

"He's nothing more than a barbarian, like all his people are," The man said as he spit at Beowulf's feet, "Should've be wiped out years ago."

"My heritage has nothing to do with this," The Viking said with venom, "and that has nothing to do with this here, Artoria is my teammate, my partner, my…"

"You were her teammate? For what? A school that creates hunters? A school that accepts the likes of you and that Caramel girl are nothing but folly, we are the protectors of mankind. Not some dog like you…" The regal man said, his eyes full of superioty.

"You are a dying kingdom!" Beowulf yelled, his rage rising, "A dying kingdom of dead ideals, you've barely looked outside your borders since you were born. You are not a kingdom, you are a province of Atlas. They are the kingdom, you are merely nobles playing at ancient ways."

"How dare you! A brute like you has no right to talk to one such as myself, knights, kill him." The man ordered, not noticing Aedan or his hand tightening under his coat.

"Stand down!" Artoria ordered as she took a few steps forward, looking Beowulf in the eye, "I thank you for hosting me, but my time had come…we…we must part ways. I was merely going into a fantasy that I thought I could maintain but I…"

Artoria was cut off as Beowulf grabbed her…and pulled her into a kiss, prompting the guards and the regal man to gasp…albeit for different reasons. Aedan merely stood there silently, a mixture of despair and happiness filling him.

"If it was a fantasy, then why do you still kiss me like someone in love?" Beowulf said as he broke the kiss off, Artoria stared at him, tears starting to fall as she turned around and started walking off.

"We're leaving." She ordered, but she couldn't hide her voice breaking as she walked away. The five followed her in silence, though the regal man gave Beowulf a harsh stare before they rounded the corner.

"Damn it all." Beowulf whispered before he walked to a nearby window, Aedan walked over to him.

"Aye laddie," Aedan said, his voice full of sadness, "Love's a bitch, but the thing that hurts the most? That's when you lose it."

"That it is," Beowulf said as he tried to hold back tears, "Have you lost someone?"

"I have, Tanya Frizzen, my partner," Aedan said sadly, "I lived my entire life after school with her until about ten years ago, but…unlike you, and I waited till it was too late to tell her that."

"At least there's that, I'm sorry." Beowulf said, his voice starting to crack.

"I made peace with it not too long ago, but…I still have work to do, I've got to keep living. Can't kick the bucket yet, but…I know she's out there, waiting for me," Aedan said as he put a hand on the huge teen, "Just like Artoria will wait for you, though…I highly doubt it will be as long as Tanya. She'll be back for ya, that I know."

"Thanks, now if you'll excuse me, I intend to deal with this the northern way." Beowulf said as he started off.

"Copious amounts of alcohol?" Aedan asked, not removing his eyes from the window.

"Probably." Beowulf said as he went on, the bartender sighed as he turned around, his eyes stopping on a camera. Ozpin had probably seen the whole thing…he would have, if not for a bounty hunter yelling at him.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Jesse yelled, slamming his fist into Ozpin's desk.

"Jesse, let me explain…" Ozpin started before Jesse cut him off.

"Explain what? That the Fall Maiden's power has been stole? That a high caliber target his currently controlling the White Fang? That you didn't tell me this and now one of your students is facing a full scale assault by the press like she's some sort of monster?" Jesse said angrily, Goodwitch's hand tightened on her crop. Jesse was getting out of hand.

"I assure, my students safety are my highest concern." Ozpin said calmly to the brunt of the crows rage.

"Bullshit, if that was the case, you'd have called me in earlier." Jesse said, his rage reaching its boiling point.

"Jesse…"Goodwitch started, only for the man to snarl at her in such a manner that made her pause.

"Ozpin, I'll give you one last chance, tell me the truth, why didn't you call me in?" Jesse said with a certain tone.

"Jesse, we are on the precipice of something happening, something that may rival the Great War. Our enemies are everywhere, I had to keep you safe. You know why I had to, Rwa Alwali." Ozpin said as he stared hard at Jesse who stared back, speechless…right before he grabbed the director's head and slammed it into his desk.

"Jesse!" Goodwitch yelled, only to be silenced by a death start the rivaled her own.

"That's your excuse?" Jesse whispered as he got to his feet, "That damned thing?"

"It's more important than…" Ozpin began before Jesse gave him a right hook across the face.

"You're covering your own ass." Jesse yelled as he pointed his finger at the director.

"It is a contingency in case…" Ozpin started only for Jesse to cut him off.

"A contingency for what? You still haven't clarified what the hell is going on! For all I know, you're in on this." Jesse yelled back, making Goodwitch gasp.

"You dare suggest that Ozpin had something to do with this? You're out of your mind!" The witch yelled in surprise, prompting the bounty hunter to give her another cold stare.

"Leaving the only person who knew what the Fall Maiden's attacker looked like out of the picture? Allowing people like Mercury Black and Emerald Sustrai to fight in the tournament? Not doing a bit by bit scrub of the network after a deliberate attack? Allowing Ironwood to bring his ships? Not bringing in Aedan Flint? And, most importantly, leaving one of the few people who hunts Hunters for a living out of the equation? How many people need to die before you get your head out of your ass and stop being a worthless C**t?!" Jesse yelled, shocking Goodwitch into silence.

The good woman had to admit, he wasn't wrong with everything that had happened, but there was more at stack than he realized…or at least, she hoped Ozpin was tell the truth. Much too his credit, Ozpin didn't give any indication of his inner thoughts as he looked over Jesse enraged face.

"I assure, I'm doing everything I can to prevent…" Ozpin was silenced by Jesse turning around.

"You've already proven that I can't trust you," Jesse said as the elevator door opens, "I'm going to clean up your mess, and then? I'm going to tell Aedan some very interesting things. We'll see how that goes."

As Jesse finished, the doors closed and left Ozpin alone with Goodwitch.

"We should have brought him in, despite his title as Rwa Alwali." Goodwitch sighed as she sat down in a nearby chair.

"As much as he denies it, it's far more important that he remain alive. The well choose him for a reason." Ozpin said as he took another sip of his coffee.

 **Meanwhile, in Vale…**

Owen paced his room, Sally was kind enough to let him stay at the bar, as he tried to think of what to do next. He was currently trapped, his Beacon ID wasn't working so he couldn't get back to Beacon as a student, his account was locked up so he couldn't get a ticket and go to the festival as a tourist, though that wouldn't have helped as it was sold out already, he was stuck.

Sally was too busy running the bar to help, and his leader was currently not answering his phone. All in all? A horrible day to be Owen. He sighed, he could only hope that his friends were doing OK.

 **In the infirmary…**

"Is she going to be alright?" Rick asked, Wun was currently hooked up to a heart rate machine that was steadily beeping. A nearby nurse turned to him with a sad smile.

"She'll be alright, just a few cuts and bruises. Nothing serious, she passed out because she was exhausted, not because of her injuries." The nurse said as she left the room, giving Rick and Micca some privacy.

"Why? Why would she come here? Who did this to her?" Micca asked, partly out of rage and partly out of pure curiosity.

"I don't know…But I intend to find out." Rick said as he pounded his fist into his palm.

"Rick, no," Micca ordered, prompting the teen to look at her funny, "We don't know what's going on, besides, your still on the ballot for the tournament. You can't leave."

"Micca, Wun is hurt…" Rick started before Micca held a hand to stop him.

"Not that badly, she'll be up soon. Besides, you've got more important things to do." The snake said as she fixed him with a glare.

"Alright, it all started a while back with…" Rick started before Micca cut him off.

"I meant with team RWBY," Micca said, prompting Rick's eyebrows to rise in confusion, "We can talk about your…friends later, for now? Team RWBY is in trouble, you need to check on them. I'll stay with Wun."

"Are you sure?" Rick asked, his voice full of concern.

"I'm sure, find Ruby, see what's going on." Micca said with a smile, the psycho nodded as he walked out the door. He did need to find answers.

 **Meanwhile, at the fairgrounds…**

Team LWTJ was sitting down with Beowulf in a saloon tent, drowning their woes. Beowulf, strangely enough was drinking the least but Willow? She was trying to get hammered. None of them were drunk yet, but they intended to change that soon enough. Teddy and Leo got to their feet, both cracking their necks.

"We're going to get the next round, be right back." Leo muttered, the rest of the group nodding. They walked to the bar and nodded, the bartended nodded back and started filling some mugs. The pair did their best to ignore the drunk small group of Atlas personal next to them.

"I'll tell ya what, if I was in charge, I'd have deal with that blonde properly. Three swatches right across the ass." One of them said, getting a hoot from the rest.

"We all know what you would do with that ass, you'd take your time with it." One of the other said, the bartender handed half the drinks to Leo and Teddy, whose tempers were starting to rise.

"I'd tell you what, I'd tame that dragon," A third soldier slurred out, obviously more drunk that the rest, "I'd tame with my magic spear."

The group hooted and hollered again, but this time, someone tapped the third man's shoulder.

"Would you care to repeat that?" Teddy said as he stood over the soldier, who simply smiled.

"I'd tame that dragon with my magic spear." The man said as he got to his feet, Teddy's face twisted into one of rage.

"Leo…" Teddy said in a questioning tone.

"Oh, I'm in." Leonidas said…right before Teddy slammed his fist into the Atlas soldiers face.

 **Insert "Irish Pub," by the Rumjacks…**

The soldier fell to the floor as Teddy barreled into another one, the soldier groaned as he hit the floor. At that point, the other soldiers had recovered from their shock and jumped to their feet, one came up behind the mustached man and tried to plant a fist into his back. Leonidas stopped him via fist to the gut and left hood to the face. One of the soldiers grabbed a chair and swung it at Teddy, which shattered against his head.

The soldier's smile was short lived as Teddy turned to face him with a stare that would make Weiss shudder, Teddy's fist sent him flying. At that point, two soldiers decided to rush Leo, who simply dove and tripped them. The two soldiers went down, slamming into each other's skull. One soldier grabbed Teddy and tried to slam him into the bar, the cowboy grabbed a mug and glassed his attacker.

The man jumped back, howling in pain as Teddy glassed him again. Another soldier tried to hit Leo with a glass bottle, but the Spartan simply grabbed the guy's arm and shoved his fist into his elbow. A snap could be heard as the bone broke, Leo then grabbed the man's head and shoved it into the bar. The man who had first made the insult crawled to his feet and reached behind his back, Leo and Teddy were both not paying attention as the man pulled out a pistol.

However, before he could aim, a shot filled the air. The party who was fighting stopped to look at the shooter, a young woman with blood red eyes. She wore standard Atlas colors and in her hand was a pistol that was smoking, the soldiers all jumped to attention.

 **End Music…**

"What is going on here?" She demanded, prompting one of the men to speak up.

"Those two attacked us!" He yelled, getting a glare from the pair. The woman looked over the two, both looked bloody and she could tell that they had been drinking.

"Your men provoked them." Josephine's voice cut through the air, Julia looked at the speaker.

"We did nothing of the sort!" Another of the men claimed, though the cold eye of the woman shut him up.

"Your men slandered one of our friends with sexual comments," Josephine continued, "Our teammates, who have been drinking and have been high strung since yesterday, simply did not appreciate their comments and reacted negatively."

"Captain Julia! We would never…" The soldier began before Julia cut him off.

"Silence, you men were on leave and what have you done? You've gotten into a fight, report back to the ship," The woman known as Julia ordered, "And you two? Despite the understandable reasons, you have still assaulted Atlas personal. I'm afraid you'll have to come with me."

"Atlas," Leonidas muttered right before he spit on the ground, "All of you are the same, thinking that we'll comply because of an order?"

"Are you going to resist?" Julia said as she reached behind her back, Leo shrugged.

"No, we aren't, as long as you promise me and my companion that we'll be treated well." The Spartan said, to which Julia nodded.

"Of course, my men will also be investigated and punished accordingly, now then, come with me." Julia ordered, to which Teddy and Leo started to go forward, or, at least, they tried to. A sharp movement caught Teddy's eye.

"Leo!" Teddy yelled, pushing Leo forward before a gunshot cracked out. Teddy was sent back a step as the bullet his chest, Julia instantly rushed over to the shooter, the soldier from earlier, and slammed his head into the bar.

"Take him to the brig," She ordered as she walked over to Teddy, who was bleeding, "Let's get you to a med bay."

"No, I'm fine," Teddy said as he ripped the bullet out and examined it before throwing it to the ground, "It takes more than that to kill a bull moose."

Julia looked over the wound and nodded as she gestured for them to head out.

 **At Beacon…**

Aedan watched as Pyrrha ran away from Jaune, her teammate, her friend, her leader…her love. He had listened to it all, her discussion of destiny, her fear…his hands clenched tightly, he felt his nails dig into his palm. Ozpin had done it, he had caused her pain, he had crossed a line, you don't mess with a man's children. Aedan breathed in and exhaled, he had to wait. Ozpin was going to address the winner of the tournament tomorrow, he would have to wait.

Aedan reached into his shirt pocket, grabbing his flask. He did not take a drink, he simply looked at it. It bore a simple seal, his seal. A katana and a longsword over a flame, a gift, a reminder. Aedan sighed, no matter what…Ozpin was going to answer for this.

 **At the docks…**

"Ruby," Rick's voice made Ruby and Velvet turn to regard the psychopath, "Velvet, how's it going?"

"Oh, fine, Velvet was showing me her pictures." Ruby said.

"Mind if I take a look?" Rick asked, hiding his concern.

"Sure," Velvet answered, allowing Rick to look at her camera. He whistled at all of her weapons, but Velvet started talking before he had a chance to say anything else, "I'm sorry to hear about your sister, is she doing OK?"

"That's why I'm here too," Rick interjected, "Seriously, she OK?"

"Yeah, she's fine, thanks." Ruby said as she looked down, Rick knew that look anywhere. Ruby was lying to herself.

"I think its awful what people are saying about her," Velvet said as she put her camera up, "Yang's such a nice person."

"That she is," Rick interjected, "And, when I find them, I'm liable to eat said people alive."

"Well, I'm glad some people are on her side." Ruby said, looking off into the distance.

"Most people don't know what it's like on the battlefield, I mean, even experienced fighters can get scared and start seeing things, if it can happen to Coco, it can happen to anyone." Velvet said, her voice sad.

"Coco?" Ruby asked.

"She had it too?" Rick asked, the voices in his head screaming at him.

"Yeah, she swore she saw Yatsu in the forest with her when they were fighting Emerald and Mercury, but he never made it out of the geyser fields." Velvet said as she crossed her arms. Ruby's eyebrows raised as Rick's eyes widened.

"Interesting." Rick muttered, his voice deep and hungry.

"Stressed induced hallucinations apparently." Velvet said.

"Yeah…" Ruby said as she went deep in thought, only to be brought out of her thoughts as Velvet took a picture of her.

"Oh, sorry!" Velvet apologized.

"It's alright, see you later." Ruby said as her and Rick started towards the arena.

"Let's see the fight, then…we'll figure this out." Rick growled.

"Aren't you supposed to be in the running?" Ruby asked, only for the psychopath to shrug.

"I'm supposed to be, but my name's been deleted for some reason. A glitch, they've promised to get it fixed and tell me when." Rick answered back as they walked.

"There you are," Ben's voice brought them out of their conversation, "How you holding up?"

"Doing the best I can." Ruby said with a smile.

"Eso es beuno," Ben said with a smile, "At least you aren't going about it like Teddy and Leo."

"What happened to them?" Ruby asked.

"Apparently, some assholes made the mistake of insulting Yang in front of Ted, got their desserts. Ted and Leo are currently at Beacon, apparently waiting for a ship." The ninja said as they walked towards the arena.

"Hey, when did your learn Spanish?" Rick asked suddenly.

"What?" Ben replied.

"Spanish, you've never taken a foreign language credit in your life." The psycho said in confusion.

"Must have picked some up from Azul." The ninja replied, though…with a slight amount of confusion.

"I haven't heard you mention that name in five years, cool." Rick said as they arrived at the arena.

"Odd…" Ben muttered, why didn't he mention Azul for so long? It seemed like he forgot about him for the longest time. He quickly shook those thoughts out of his mind as he and the rest of the trio sat down, Ruby and Rick deep in thought. That's when Ruby said a single name, one that brought his mind out of the dumps.

"Emerald…" Ruby said quietly, Ben snapped up and looked across the arena to spy the chocolate skinned girl.

"What?" Rick asked suddenly, he didn't hear what she had said.

"I'm going to get some popcorn, I'll be back." Ruby said as she got to her feet.

"I'll help." Ben responded getting to his feet.

"Grab me some Dew, would you?" Rick called. Both ignored him as they went off, leaving Rick to his thoughts.

 _So…Coco fights the team whose member discredits out favorite blonde, and suffers from the exact same symptoms…that sounds familiar,_ The Butcher said in Rick's mind.

"Yeah…after the festival gets over, time to go on the warpath." Rick muttered.

 _It's already time, look forward…_ The Butcher spoke again, Rick looked up to see the very same sight that set Ruby and Ben off.

"Oh…it's go time…" Rick said as he got to his feet, blood was what he wanted now.

 **At the fairgrounds…**

"Our next fighters are Pyrrha Nikos and Penne Poledina!" Ports voice made Jesse choke on his drink.

"Oh no." Jesse whispered, he knew what Pyrrha's semblance was…and knew exactly what it would do to Penny. He slammed down some lien and took off, he had to make it, he had to stop this. The crowd got in his way, he pushed and shoved, he yelled and screamed. He could see on the various television sets the fight progressing, he was running out of time.

He pushed and pushed, his eyes widening with every second, every moment his heart felt like it was coming out of his chest, he had to make it…

 **At Beacon…**

Aedan looked up at the figure on the roof, his instincts telling him that he needed to check this out…

 **At the fairgrounds…**

Jesse reached the building, he leapt over the turnstiles, his eyes looking more like a wild animal, his voice hoarse as he screamed as he saw the fight come to its conclusion…he fell to his knees as Penny literally fell to pieces in front of his own eyes. Ben stopped dead in his tracks as he saw the conclusion, his eyes filling with tears, his hands clenching as he turned to regard Emerald as she got up. His eyes became akin to Rick's at that point, filled with rage and despair.

Rick fell down, he slowly got up as he looked at the arena, Penny…that girl that Ben had talked about to him in private conversation. She was a robot? He shook his head, no…she was a girl, a girl who had just been murdered by Emerald and her crew. Rick clenched his teeth so tightly that they were liable to be ground into dust.

 **At the infirmary…**

"Dust no." Micca said as she looked at the screen.

"No…" Wun's voice brought her out of her stupor, "I…I was too late."

"Wun, what do you mean by that?" Micca said, not caring that her sister had just woken up, she wanted answers.

"Our boss, a woman named Cinder decided to spread fear…she was going to target the festival to bring in the…" Wun started before Micca cut her off.

"The Grimm…" Micca whispered…

 **At the arena…**

All the screens went red with a queen piece in the middle, a woman's voice filled the air…

"This…is not a tragedy, this was not an accident, this is what happens when you hand over your trust, your safety, your children, to men who claim to be out guardians." The voice broadcasted itself to the mortified people of Vale. Richard, then arriving, got to his feet and readied his scroll to summon his weapon.

"But are, in reality, nothing more than men. Our academies headmasters wield more power than most armies, and one was audacious enough to control both. They cling to this power in the name of piece."

Rick could see Ironwood storming off.

"And yet? What do we have here? One nations attempt at a synthetic army?" Ben growled at that statement, Penny was human, more human than this bitch.

"Mercilessly torn apart by another start pupil? What need would Atlas have for a soldier disguised as an innocent little girl? I don't think the Grimm can tell the difference, and what I ask you is Ozpin teaching his students? First a dismemberment, now this?" Teddy and Leonidas snarled as Julia watched the message on her scroll.

"Huntsman and Huntresses should carry themselves with honor and mercy." Alex and Emily looked at each other in their laboratory set up.

"Yet I have witnessed neither." Beowulf and the rest of LWTJ got to their feet, ready for action.

"Perhaps Ozpin thought that defeating Atlas in the tournament would help people forget his colossal failure to protect Vale when the Grimm invaded its streets." Owen and Sally stared at the screen in pure shock.

"Or perhaps this is his message a tyrannical dictator who has invaded a country with his own forces." Misho looked at the screen with Ozpin, a silent sigh escaping his lips.

"Honestly? I haven't the slightest clue to who is right and who is wrong, but I know that the existence of piece is fragile." The Blood Hunter and his master looked at each other in despair.

"And the leaders of our kingdoms conduct their business with iron gloves." Ben watches as Emerald walked into the hallway.

"As someone who hails from Mistral, I can assure that the situation there is…equally undesirable. Our kingdoms are at the brink of war, yet we, the citizens are left in the dark." A man in a hood watched the broadcast in a faraway village, his red eyes barely hidden against his tattooed face.

"So I ask you, when the first shots are fired, who do you think you can trust?" Cinder finished her broadcast with a smile, right before a blade cut her scroll in two.

"You know, where I come from, we have a word for someone like you," Cinder froze up at Aedan's voice, "Dead woman…"


	10. The End of Life as We Know It

Emerald was frozen, stuck between a wall and a very angry Ben. The ninja looked at her with a snarl, his eyes glowing with hatred. She had just walked away and hadn't noticed him, stupid, stupid, stupid.

"You," Ben snarled, "You killed her, you murdered her."

"That wasn't me, it was Pyrrha!" Emerald interjected hopelessly, she knew that Ben had full knowledge of her involvement.

"You killed her, you framed Pyrrha," Ben said as he cracked his knuckles, "I'm going to rip you apart, _perra._ "

Ben launched himself into Emerald, punching, kicking, even biting. Emerald screamed as he ripped her apart, her screams bringing back unpleasant memories. Memories of fire, of death, of a voice begging to help. He pounded harder to drown out the noise, he had too…he didn't want to remember their deaths.

"Why the hell are you punching the floor?" Rick's voice brought Ben out of his rage, he looked around to see Emerald standing over him with a gun to his head. The ninja looked at the pavement, stained with his own blood. Emerald focused on Rick, her eyes squinting at him. Rick suddenly yelped in pain as he grabbed his head, before Emerald gasped and did the same.

Ben used the opportunity to scramble away, stepping beside Rick. The psychopath suddenly grinned at the thief.

"So, you're the one giving me a headache," Rick said with his smile plastered on, "Been wondering about that."

"What?" Emerald said as she took a few steps back, pure shock on her face.

"Word of advice?" Rick said as he pointed at his skull, "I've got five voices up here, five people for you to control."

Emerald eyes widened, she had always thought that Rick was joking about being crazy. She knew why she was afraid when she first saw him all those months ago, those eyes…they weren't the eyes of kindness. The thief then, without missing a beat, turned around and ran away. Ben snarled again and tried to go after her, but Rick grabbed his shoulder.

"We've got bigger problems, look!" Rick yelled as he pointed at the arena, where a Nevermore had just landed and was approaching a downed Pyrrha.

"Crap!" Ben yelled as he charged towards the arena, "Son of a bitch!"

"Pyrrha!" Rick yelled as the Nevermore closed in, the psychopath pulling out his scroll and typing in a few command codes, "Hurry up, hurry up!"

The Nevermore was upon Pyrrha, the champion staring at it in shock. That's when a certain redhead jumped in and slashed the huge bird with one of Penny's blades.

"Leave her alone!" Ruby yelled, determined to defend her friend at any cost. The Nevermore swooped up and charged in like a falcon, Rick looked up from his scroll with a smile. A bunch of lockers suddenly came careening in, pinning the Nevermore to the ground.

"Everyone, arm up, we've got Grimm to kill!" Richard yelled as he jumped on stage, followed by a man in a trench coat. Rick and Ben nodded as they leapt in too, each grabbing their weapon along with Rick grabbing his mask.

"Time for some blood meat chunks!" Rick yelled as he revved up his chainsaw, his body ready for bloodshed. Richard grabbed his twin blade as he cracked his neck, his mustache was glistening in the light. Ben wrapped his chain around his waist as he looked around, Emerald had escaped, much to his chagrin.

Suddenly, the Nevermore started shaking, slowly raising its head.

"Someone kill that bastard!" Jesse yelled as he readied his pistol to fire, thankfully, he didn't have to fire as Ren, Nora, Yatsuhashi and Sage all tag teamed it. The bounty hunter grunted as he looked over to Ruby and Pyrrha.

"Ruby…I…" Pyrrha started, "I am so sorry."

"Me too," Ruby replied through tears, "But it wasn't your fault."

"She's right," Jaune cut in as he walked in with Pyrrha's weapons, "Whoever was on the microphone, they're the ones to did this, and we have to make sure that they don't take anyone else."

"Damn straight," Jesse said as he looked around, he could feel the Grimm getting closer. Everyone lined up, ready for combat. That's when a chorus of snarls made them all look up, "Ready up!"

The arena was surrounded by Griffons, the nervous tension in the air palpable.

"Anyone have a plan of attack?" Neptune asked, his nerve starting to fail.

"Sun, I need your scroll." Ruby ordered, Sun smiled and nodded as he threw it to her. Ruby quickly summoned her scythe, she ran towards it…only to have a Griffon land on it. The creature roared at her…right before a shot came from nowhere and killed it right dead.

"Students," Port said as he lowered his weapon, "I think it's time for you to leave."

"But we…" Ruby started before Oobleck cut her off.

"Ms. Rose, this day will surely go down in Remnants history," Oobleck said slowly, "I'd prefer it, if my students could live to tell about it."

Ruby nodded as she grabbed her weapon.

"Let's go!" The little girl nodded, the others nodded as they started running. Jesse paused for a moment, a quick look at Penny's body was what he needed. A reminder of what he was fighting for, it needed to happen.

"One final match Marty," Port's voice laughed as the group ran, "Place your bets!"

The group entered the docks, Atlas personal directed traffic. That's when ships arrived carrying Grimm, Ironwood glared at them as they destroyed his troops. He ran in, screaming, firing his revolver, right before throwing the Beowulf like a ragdoll and finishing it off with a point blank shot.

"What's going on?!" Ruby asked desperately, in pure confusion.

"Grimm are crawling all over the city, the White Fang is attacking Beacon, and to make matter worse," Ironwood said with a sigh, "A…vagabond has seized one of my ships; until we regain command the skies are out of our control."

"So I'm," Ironwood stopped to take a shot at a Grimm, "Going to take it back."

"Not without me," Jesse said as the general turned to walk away, "I know the insides and outsides as well as this…vagabond."

Ironwood nodded as they readied to board the airship.

"What should we do?" Jaune asked as the general and bounty hunter approached the ship.

"You have two choices," Ironwood said as he turned around, "Stay and defend your kingdom and school or save yourselves."

The group all looked at each other.

"No one will fault you if you leave," Ironwood said as he looked sympathetically at the group of children, "Let's move out!"

"Well…that was only the worst speech I've ever heard," Richard said as the general left, the monk turned to his companions, "None of us are going to back down, right?"

"We can take a ship to Beacon." Jaune yelled as they started running towards said ship. Jesse and Ironwood approached the ship, Jesse thinking as they approached.

"They launched a full blown attack on morale to draw in the Grimm, but the Grimm are outclassed by the Mechs…" He muttered to himself, "But they also hacked the tower…oh SHIT!"

The bounty hunter leapt to his feet and pulled out his gun, only for the robotic soldiers to start firing…

 **At the Beacon rooftops…**

"Turn around lass, slowly," Aedan ordered, his voice low and cool. Cinder didn't know if she should smile or frown at the old man but she did as he ordered, his eyes widened as saw her face, "You?"

"Me," Cinder said as she slowly walked around the samurai, "Been a long time, hasn't it?"

"I'm not here to talk the past." Aedan said as he turned, his blade still on her neck.

"I would assume not," Cinder said with a small laugh, "Then why are you here?"

"To stop you," The Ronin said simply, "To stop you from killing more innocent people."

"And how many innocent people as Ozpin been responsible for killing?" Cinder said, trying to get under Aedan's skin, "How many has Ironwood killed?"

"And how many has the White Fang killed? Don't play this game with me, it doesn't suit you." The samurai said as his eyes narrowed.

"Aedan, Ozpin and Ironwood have killed so many," Cinder said, ignoring his warning, "How many did you kill for them? Do you not hear their screams?"

"Oh, cut the mind games," Aedan said, "You've got a point, speak it so I don't feel bad about running you through."

"Aedan, Ozpin killed your team," Cinder said with a look deep into Aedan's eyes, "You know it's true, he sent you in knowing that something wasn't right. That the people were far more dangerous than he let on, you know it's true."

"Aye, I realized that a long time ago." Aedan said to the seductress.

"Aedan…join me, we can make Ozpin and Ironwood pay for their crimes," The woman said, her eyes shifting behind the samurai, "Don't waste your energy, Emerald, he's fought beings with far greater illusions than you."

Aedan didn't even flinch at the mention of Cinder's lackeys, his hearing might be starting to go, but his nose could still smell the oil on Mercury's leg, fresh, likely applied at the beginning of today. Emerald would have been a bit harder to detect, but Aedan could feel the weight her hypnotic gaze.

"You're lackeys are good fighters," Aedan said as he and Cinder continued to circle around, allowing him full view of the pair, "Too bad they had to side with the losing side."

"We have already won Aedan, look," Cinder said as she pointed, Aedan dared glimpsed over to see that the White Fang, the Grimm, and the Mechs all attacking the students, "Ironwood brought his army to us, and it cost him."

"Aye, I guess I see why you'd think that," Aedan said as he looked back, "But I've seen bigger forces destroyed by less."

"A charming though, though hopelessly romantic," Cinder said with a laugh, "You were always a romantic Aedan, please…consider my offer. We will bring down Ozpin, you will finally have the justice you always wanted."

"Tempting," Aedan said as he lowered his blade, "But…I'm afraid I'm going to have to refuse, you don't have the power to even come close to Ozpin, even with the Maiden."

"The Maiden's power isn't all I've got at my disposal." Cinder said with a look at Mt. Glenn, Aedan's eyes widened as he looked at the mountain.

"No…you wouldn't, that's insane!" The samurai screamed as he looked around, "You'll kill everyone!"

"That is why I offer you a chance, join me…with your help, we will be unstoppable." Cinder said as she held out her hand. Aedan gave her one last look before he sighed.

"I'm so disappointed in you lass, you were always one of my favorites." The samurai said as he suddenly leaned over the side and dropped, Cinder didn't even need to look down to see if he survived. Both Emerald and Mercury ran over, giving Cinder a chance to compose herself. She was…truly upset, Aedan would have been the greatest of allies along with…some other things.

She quickly recovered, shaking her head free of the cobwebs. What's done is done, besides…Aedan might change his mind later.

 **At the hospital…**

A Griffith burst into the room, roaring its head off. The nurses all screamed as a tall teen stepped forward.

"Get behind me!" Micca yelled as she raised her ax and brought it down, slicing its head clean off. Another Griffon bust into the room, Micca yelled as she slammed her blade into its torso. The beast was launched into a wall, but then another Griffith leaped at Micca. She didn't have time to turn around…but that's when a bolt buried itself into the beast skull.

Micca whirled around to see Wun, still holding her side because of her injuries, with her trusty weapons.

 **Insert "I Burn," Jeff Williams…**

"I told you to stay low!" Micca yelled.

"Yeah, and I told you to find and do your boyfriend, it isn't going to happen!" The younger girl yelled back as she fired her weapon again, hitting another beast into the wall.

"I forgot how much I loved you," Micca said with a laugh as she shot another Griffith, "Now if only you could get a boyfriend."

"How about we talk about that after we deal with the horrible monstrosities attacking us?" Wun said with a laugh, it felt like they never left each other's side.

"Deal, we need to get the civilians out of here." Micca ordered, the younger Wun sister nodded as she readied another bolt, Grimm were coming through the windows, all got shot for their troubles. It was more akin to a shooting gallery, they would pop up, only to be mowed down. The sister ran throughout the hallway, diving, twisting, and even throwing each other into the air to get better shot's on a Beowolf.

They arrived at the front door with their party of various nurses and patients, the sister leaned against the door with their ears next to it. They could hear the Grimm outside, searching for a way in.

"It sounds like a lot." Wun whispered, Micca grinned at her younger sister.

"Yeah, but we've been through worse." The older sister said as she held out her fist, which Wun reluctantly bumped.

"We good?" Wun asked, only for Micca to scoff.

"You tried to kill me, my friends, my boyfriend…we're going to have to have a serious conversation after all this, then we get to talk about being 'good." Micca said as she got to her feet.

"Ok, ready?" Wun asked as she readied to kick the door.

"Ready." Micca said, right before the younger sister kicked the door. The two sisters charged into the fray, Micca swinging her ax like a madman while Wun tried to keep making pot shots. Overall, the Grimm, which mostly consisted of Beowolves and Ursa, weren't too hard to deal with…that's when a screech filled the air. The two sister whirled around to see…another Nevermore coming to play.

"…do you have something for that?" Wun whispered scared out of her mind.

"No…I actually don't." Micca whispered back, the two sister readied themselves as the bird charged, ready to kill, or at least, it tried to. That's when an arrow slammed itself into the beast chest, right before exploding.

"Looks like you could use some assistance." Alex's voice was met with sighs of relief. The fox faunas slowly walked up with Emily at his side.

"What's going on?" Micca asked.

"Well, first off, Grimm are everywhere, second, the White Fang are everywhere, and third…all the Atlas Mechs have turned on their human overlords," Alex said with a smile, "Nothing too big."

"What he means is that we need to evacuate," Emily said in a serious tone, "The Grimm and White Fang are bad enough, but the Mechs? We can't fight three enemies at once."

"What about Rick, Ben, and Richard?" Micca asked, her voice filled with concern.

"No idea, we need to figure where they are though, right Emily?" Alex said in a pointed tone, the leader sighed.

"Yes, we need to find them, give it to her." Emily said as she gestured at Micca, who looked at her friends in confusion.

"I was whipping this up for Rick," The fox said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a thick disc, "He wanted to give it to you as a gift, but I think we need it more now."

"What is it?" Micca asked as she turned it over, examining it.

"It's a power cell, for Freelancer," Alex explained, "It's not finished, but it should give you enough juice to get through tonight."

"Right, let's go." Micca said as she started off towards the armor building. Alex turned to Wun with a smile.

"So…you're the girl whose been trying to kill Rick, names Alex." The fox said as he, Wun, and Emily started off.

 **End music…**

 **At a random sidewalk…**

"Lady, I don't know if you've noticed, but Grimm are raining from the sky, the White Fang is shooting at us, and your Mechs have just tried to stab us in the back," Teddy yelled as he, Leo, and Julia ran throughout Beacon, "So…I'd appreciate if you'd let our hands free so we could, oh I don't know, fight back!"

"I can't," Julia yelled as the trio ducked behind a bit of cover, "You are my prisoners, I can't…"

"Captain," Leonidas said calmly, "I'm sorry to say this, but all those rules and regulations went out the window after your own robots turned against you. Right now, we need to work together to survive this, so, please…TAKE OFF THE DAMN CUFFS!"

Julia looked at the two, as much as she hated to say it, they were right. She sighed as she pulled out a keycard and swiped it, letting the pair go.

"Good call," Leonidas said as he pulled out his scroll, "Teddy, get your weapon."

"Already on it," Ted said as his weapon came careening in, "What's the plan?"

"I see that some ships are coming in from the arena," Leonidas said as he looked across the sky, "They need a safe landing point."

"How are we supposed to get to the docks, it's too far, we'd never get there in time." Julia said as she drew her sword.

"On the contrary, our ride should be arriving any second now." Teddy said as Julia heard the revving of a motorcycle engine…

 **In town…**

"That's a lot of Grimm…" Owen muttered as he loaded his weapon, he and Sally had just finished clearing out the patrons and were readying themselves to leave as well.

"That's an understatement," Sally said as she loaded her weapon, a weapon that looked like a lever action shotgun with odd designs as well as grabbing a sword that was hanging over the mantelpiece. It was a strange looking piece, bearing what could be considered demonic symbols. Its blade was black metal with a deep, red glow emanating from what would be considered its core.

"Was wondering if you'd bring that out." Owen said as he looked out the window, checking the coast.

"It doesn't fit well under the bar, I can't draw it out quick enough to break a fight up." Sally said innocently as she swung it on her back.

"And that's why you scare me," Owen said with a laugh, "You're always thinking ahead in violent ways."

"Doesn't Rick do the same?" Sally replied as she walked to the door.

"Touché," Owen answered as he pointed his weapon in gun form at the door, "Mind opening the door?"

"For a woman, it's the man's job." The barmaid said with a grin as she kicked the door across the street.

"Ouch, hurtful much?" The teen said as he followed, cracking his neck, "Any idea of where to go?"

"I've…actually got something important to check on, get to the center of town," Sally said as she started down a road, "I'll catch up."

"Yeah, like hell," Owen said as he followed her, "Let a friend walk through monster encompassed streets alone? What do you take me for?"

"Good Dust, you're annoying," Sally said with a grin as she kept moving, "Come along then."

"Where are we heading anyway? We're not going to be hitting a porn shop are we?" Owen joked as he and Sally continued their way, the bartender groaned.

"No, and I'm ashamed that you thought of that, Rick's influence no doubt," She said as they continued, "We need to find an inn, called No Rest for the Weary. An old friend of Aedan and I runs it, Aedan would kill me if I didn't check on her during a crisis like this."

"And old friend? From how long ago? During his…drunk days?" The inquisitive teen asked, Sally laughed.

"Even older, she worked with him for a while before she left and started her own bar in Vale," The barmaid said as she turned down a street, "She had a kid too, named him Edward. Aedan almost killed her when he found out about him."

"Why?" Owen asked back.

"Because it was with a pirate who she never saw again…especially after he found out that he had saved her from his own men." Sally said as she looked around for any sign of Grimm.

"Wait, in… _that_ way?" Owen asked as he rounded another corner.

"Yes, in that way," Sally said as she poked her head around a corner, "Her inn is just over there, let's go."

The pair rounded the corner to the as of yet untouched bar, Sally sighed in relief as she neared the door…only for it to bust open as an Atlas robot was propelled through it.

 **Insert "Panama," Van Halen…**

"Get the hell out of my bar!" Mary yelled as she pumped her shotgun and fired at another robot, this one flying into the tables. Sally and Owen looked at each other, shrugged, and charged in. Sally pulled out her weapon, flip cocked it, and fired, sending another robot into the dust. Owen swung his chain around, one robot turning as the blade neared its head.

The blade chopped its head clean off, right before another robot grabbed it out of the air. Owen smiled, he had been counting on that, as he yanked it forward. The robot was pulled, right before Owen kicked off its chest. The metal machine was sent to the ground, right before Owen landed on its head, crushing it. Another tried to fire at the teen point blank, said teen simply ducked as he wrapped his chain around the robots neck and pulled, popping it off like a soda cap.

The last robot reached down to pull out a grenade, only for Mary to blast it away with a shotgun blast.

"Sally! I wasn't expecting to see you tonight." The older woman yelled as she ran over and hugged the younger woman.

"As I told him," Sally said as she pointed at Owen, "Aedan would kill me if I didn't check."

"That old sod, why hasn't he visited me yet?" Mary demanded, ignoring the chaos surrounding her.

"Been busy, trying to prevent this," Sally said as she gestured to said chaos, "Apparently, the old bat's lost his touch."

"Sorry to cut in, but…" Owen said as he looked around, "We probably shouldn't stay here, Grimm are still pouring into the city. We've got to find some shelter."

"Agreed," Mary said as she loaded her shotgun, "Though I intend to give Aedan a good thrashing when I find him."

"Sure, let's go." Sally said with a grin as the trio took off, unaware of the red eyes that followed them…

 **End Music…**

 **At Beacon…**

"Does anyone have a plan for when we get down there?" Ben yelled over the engines as they approached Beacon.

"Kill everything that's either shooting at you or trying to eat you alive." Rick yelled as he got ready to rev up his chainsaw.

"Sounds good to me," Richard yelled before he turned to the pilot, "Hey, is the landing zone clear."

"As clear as it's going to be," The man said with a cockney accent, "Do me a favor, get on that radio and see if we can't get someone to start chatting."

Richard nodded as he looked to the right and grabbed the receiver, he pressed the button.

"Come in, come in, does anyone read?" Richard's voice was first met with static, right before a familiar voice filled the room.

"Richard, is that you?" Teddy's voice was meet with a sigh of relief.

"That it is, we are heading towards the dock," Richard said as he looked out the window, he could make out the forms of Teddy, Leo, and a woman all fighting, "Who's the chick?"

"An Atlas woman we picked up, a captain of some sort." Teddy replied back as gunfire filled the air.

"Put her on the phone please, I need to get an assessment of the situation and she's probably better at it than you would be." Richard's request was meet with an affirmative grunt as the other end was handed off.

"Lieutenant General Julia Gaia speaking." The woman's voice sounded off.

"Don't care about your rank," Richard said calmly, "I need an assessment, what are we jumping into down there?"

"We're doing our best to keep the White Fang and the Grimm off the platform, it's one of the few that's still in our control. Right now, Beacon is in danger of falling, Grimm are everywhere, as is the White Fang. All of the robotic units have gone rogue, including the paladins." Julia's replied.

"Shit," Richard muttered, "Look, we are coming in for a landing, are we clear to land?"

"Yes sir, we've only a few White Fang stragglers," Julia's voice gave Richard some relaxation, "But their leader is a damned good fighter, we used to be twenty, now…we are at eight."

"What does the leader look like?" Richard asked, hoping that it wasn't who he thought it was.

"A faunas with orange fire and black stripes." Julia replied, Richard sighed.

"Sir, we're coming in." The pilot said.

"OK, we're coming in, keep them off of us." Richard ordered.

"Yes sir." Julia replied back as the monk walked forwards to the doors. Everyone looked around, all afraid for what was next.

"People," Rick said suddenly, "I'm not one for speeches, but I've got one thing to say to you...let's rip them apart!"

The doors opened as Rick revved up his chainsaw, only to be stopped by the sight of a certain tiger faunas. He smiled as his weapon's blades lit up, one after another. The group looked around.

"I'll handle this," Richard said as he stepped forward, readying his own weapon, "Go on ahead."

"Thanks." Rick whispered as he and the rest of the gang took off, Maul and Richard stared each other down.

"No more words…" Richard said as he and Maul kept staring, "Just blood."

As those last words were spoken, the two monks charged forward, their steel clashing as they went off into the night. Teddy and Leo looked at Julia.

"General," Leo said suddenly, "Wait here, protect the ships."

"I don't take orders from you." Julia said sharply.

"We don't need a martyr," Leonidas said calmly, "Look, you need to stay safe, your input to Atlas will be far greater than your sacrifice. Make sure that something like your robots turning against you never happens again."

Julia opened her mouth, right before closing it. She couldn't deny it…he wasn't wrong. Leo and Teddy both nodded as they started running after Rick and the group. As they arrived, Rick was spouting off a few orders.

"Ben, get to the school, make sure any survivors know where to go." Rick yelled over the roar of his chainsaw.

"Why me?" The ninja asked as he took a potshot with his weapon at an approached Grimm.

"Because with Ruby on that ship, you're probably one of the fastest ones of us," Rick yelled as he shoved his chainsaw into another approaching Grimm, "On top of that, your semblance is far better at picking up survivors than anyone else."

"Got it." Ben yelled back as he took off towards the school, Teddy and Leo both took up positions at the psychopath's side.

"Hey, Leo," Rick yelled randomly, "Mind giving a speech? I'm not that good at words, but we could use a good boost right now."

"Gladly," Leonidas said before taking a deep breath, "Ladies, Gentleman, those of unspecified gender, today…we don't just defend Beacon, we don't just fight for our own lives, we don't even fight to protect the innocent lives in the crossfire. Today, we fight for Vytal, today, we send a message to that bitch on the radio.

Leo's semblance was working as the people started to nod their heads.

"We will send a message that will ring to heaven and hell, god's and demons," Leo yelled as he suddenly slammed a Grimm with his shield, "We say to them, 'we will not die so easily, we will not let the Grimm take our live.' Today, we spit in the eyes of the people who think that we are defenseless, the people who thought they could destroy Vale with fear."

Rick yelled in agreement as he slammed his chainsaw down onto a Grimm's arm, cutting it off and going right to its head.

"And for those of us who die? Save a spot in the afterlife for us, for when we meet again, we will share stories of love, friendship, and war and we will celebrate our victories with raised glasses and voices. Let us fight my friends, for Beacon, for Vale, for Vytal!" Leonidas finished his speech as he raised his blade to the sky. Everybody cheered as Leo charged into battle, they felt it…they might win this.

 **At Beacon…**

Ben had made it to the doors, he barely stopped as he ran into the doors. The swung open as the ninja kept moving, only to stop at the sight that lay before him.

"We meet again," Cruril said as ripped his blade out of a victim, "For the last time…"

 **At the battleground…**

 **Insert "Dangerous But Worth the Risk," By Ratt…**

"Son of a…" Rick groaned as an alpha Ursa knocked him back, the psycho's mind was racing, trying to plan his next attack. The Ursa had managed to catch him as he was chain sawing one of its brethren and it was extremely pissed off. It roared as it raised its paw to smite the teen where he stood, right before a huge sword erupted from its chest.

"Back you demon spawn of hell…" Beowulf yelled as he swung his sword around and threw the creature like a rag doll into a wall, the Viking offered Rick his hand.

"Thanks." The psycho muttered as he was pulled to his feet.

"No need," Beowulf said as he turned around, his face in a snarl, "Right now, we need to save as many as we can."

"You can say that again," Perseus yelled as he threw his blade through three Beowolves, "Damn place is crawling with these things, does anyone have a plan?"

"Kill everything that's a Grimm or White Fang?" Caramel offered as she leapt off a Deathstalker, slamming her ax into its 'face.'

"Sounds good to me," Beo said as he raised his sword, "We've got this side, get to the south end…they need some help."

"Got it," Rick yelled as he took off, ignoring the chaos around him as he made his way. He stopped as he saw his friends team SSSN, CVFY, and those other guys from the tournament fighting off a horde of Grimm, "Miss me?"

"Not really," Coco yelled as she gunned down more Grimm, "but we'll take anyone these days."

"All right," Rick yelled as he revved up his chainsaw, "Any request?"

His answer came in the form of a paladin rushing towards them.

"I've got it!" The psychopath yelled as he dropped his chainsaw and pulled out his ax, the Mech charged him, firing its weapons at him, the psychopath ducked and weaved. His body twisting and turning to allow him to snake through the blast, he jumped between its legs right before it turned around and smacked him, "Crap."

The robot loomed over him, its weapons readying themselves for firing. Rick got to his feet and groaned.

"Damnit, can't believe I got to do this." Rick muttered as he closed his eyes, opening them to reveal… strange symbols in both of them in place of his normal eyes. He ducked under its legs again, his eyes snapping towards its left leg. The psycho swung his ax, slamming it into the Mech's legs. The thing tried to turn around, but its left leg wouldn't move.

It decided to whirl around on its axis, but Rick grabbed a handhold and launched himself onto its back. The beast tried to shake him off, but he held on with an iron grip. He scanned the paladins back, right before smiling and shoving his hand into a seemingly random port. Rick yelled as he ripped out a red, glowing orb right before he threw it away.

The orb burst into smoke as it landed as the Mech trembled…right before it fell down. Rick jumped off its back, yawning…not noticing the huge form looming over him. He didn't hear the Nevermore until it was too close, the psychopath whirled around to see it's claws only a few feet away from his face…he had no way to dodge…until a grey figure suddenly slammed into and sent it into the dirt. The nevermore screeched until a snap was heard, the figure turned around as it revved up a minigun and fired, hitting some straggling Grimm.

"Nice night for a walk," Micca's voice rang out as the figure came into the clearing, Rick's jaw dropped. She had finished it, Freelancer. The armor was grey, it's wide visor a deep yellow. In her hands was the FT-800, the barrels only now stopping, "But the Grimm are making a mess of things."

"You, what, how…" Rick stammered before Micca held up a hand.

"Alex, gave me that core, it's not finished but should be enough to get through the night." Micca replied as she turned around to face more Grimm.

"Aw, that was supposed to be a birthday gift." Rick said with a slight amount of exaggeration as he grabbed his chainsaw and revved it up.

 **Meanwhile, back in the city…**

Owen, Mary, and Sally kept running throughout the city, they had no idea where to go and the situation kept getting worse. Grimm and robots kept getting in their way and the aura users were starting to run low on said aura.

"Come on!" Owen yelled suddenly, "The Square should be just around this corner!"

The trio rounded said corner…only to see destroyed buildings.

"We…must have taken a wrong turn…" The teen said as he turned around, ready to backtrack…only to be stopped by the sight of a Rancor Grimm. This one, however was far scarier than the one that BLCP faced...this one was pure white, its eye's glowing dark red.

"Mary…get back…" Sally said as she readied her blade.

"I can help lass…" Mary began before Owen cut her off.

"No…that thing's got armor…your weapon won't do anything to it," The teen said as he took a few steps forward before turning to Sally, "Get her out of here, I'll hold it off."

"What? Like hell, I'm not abandoning you." Sally said back as the Rancor started to approach.

"It's not that simple, neither of us can beat this thing, I'm too exhausted and you don't have the ammo, but you do have something I don't," Owen said, prompting a look from the bar waitress, "Knowledge of the city, and the love of Aedan. If something happens to you, he might do something drastic to himself. Go…I'll be fine."

Sally looked at him and back at Mary, she nodded as she grabbed the older woman's hand and started running. Owen turned back to face his opponent, who roared as it started charging.

 **Insert "Mad World," by Gary Jules…**

"Let's go, to the ends of the earth." Owen said as he charged forward, his weapon clenched in his hands. He dove underneath the creature, throwing his chains around its legs. The creature snarled as it turned around and slammed fist down, the teen narrowly avoided it. He unwrapped his weapon as pulled it back as he switched it to its gun form and fired at the creature, the bullet's clinging off its armor.

The Rancor swung it's might fist again, this time taking out a building as Owen jumped on its arm and started running up akin to an anime. He yelled as his weapon came back to him in time to slash at the creatures face, he managed to get his blade into one of its eyes. The beast roared in pain as Owen leapt off, the force almost pulling the creature down as he swung between its legs and onto a ledge, ripping out his blade in the process.

The Rancor turned around again, this time grabbing a nearby car and slamming it down onto said ledge, Owen yelped as he dove off the side. The Rancor roared again as it suddenly jumped into the air, Owen looked at the creature in wonder as it landed…right in front of the fleeing Mary and Sally.

"No!" Owen yelled as the shockwave sent the pair flying back, Mary screamed in pain as she was impaled by rebar, the steel going into her shoulder. The Rancor looked at the moaning woman as she looked at said rebar, the creature licked its lips as it reached for her.

"Get the hell away from her you bitch!" Sally yelled as she jumped in, stabbing her sword into the ground. A burst of heat and light didn't stop the creature from slamming its fist into Sally…only to be stopped cold by something. The light cleared and in the place of a scared woman stood a figure with stone armor, the beast roared again as it punched the figure.

The figure didn't move, but the Rancor suddenly felt a weight on its shoulder. The creature head was once again met with the sight of Owen jumping on its face, driving his blade into its already wounded eye.

"Sally, move!" Owen yelled as he jammed his weapon deeper, the figure looked up and nodded as the armor fell off. She fell to her knees, exhausted as got herself up. Sally ran over to Mary and grabbed her.

"I'm gonna pull you off on three," Sally said, "One…Two…"

The bar waitress ripped the older woman off the rebar, Mary screamed as she felt the pain full force. Sally looked at the wound…right before she started sobbing.

"No…nononono…" Sally whispered as she started applying pressure to said wound, trying in vain to stop the bleeding. That's when she saw a blue light fill the air, Sally whirled around to see Owen, in the creatures clutches, holding out his hand. His body was glowing blue, "Owen, NO!"

The creature roared as it raised Owen to its lips…and dropped him in its mouth. The teen didn't scream as he fell, instead…he smiled, knowing his work was done as he saw the approaching figure in the distance. Owen stopped feeling anything as the monster bit down, ending his life. Sally screamed as she saw the sight, Owen might have been able to survive that if he hadn't healed Mary, using the last of his life in sacrifice.

The Rancor turned to face Sally, who had nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. She…couldn't move, she had no energy left. That's…when a shot filled the air, the creature's head literally being blown off with a single bullet. Sally whirled around to see a man with a smoke in his lips, clutching his side with his left, and holding a large, silver revolver in his right.

"Sorry to be late," The man said as he approached, not having any idea what had just happened, "Damn Grimm are a pain in the ass to kill, come one, I'll get you out of here."

Sally stared at him, before breaking down into sobs…just a little while longer, and Owen would still be here…

 **Back at Beacon…**

 **Insert "These Colors Don't Run," Iron Maiden…**

Alex, Emily, and Wun were guarding the landing zone, the Grimm kept coming and Alex was starting to run out of arrows and patience.

"Guys, I know I'm amazing," Alex yelled as he fired another arrow, "But I can't pull arrows out my ass, give me something here!"

"Atlas said they are on their way with evacuation shuttles, we just need to hold out!" Wun yelled as she kicked off a Beowolf, firing a bolt into another one.

"That's great and all, but I need a time table!" Alex yelled back, grabbing a pebble and throwing it, sending it through about five Ursa lined up in a row.

"Should be about five minutes!" Emily yelled back as she slashed an Ursa in half.

"Great, that's enough time for them to choose which one to eat," Alex yelled back, only to pause when there was no comeback quip. The fox whirled around to see…Emily slashing an Ursa off Wun's downed body, "What's with her?!"

"She just got out of the hospital, this isn't the best condition to be fighting in!" Emily fired back as she dragged the girl's body back.

"OK, now, I'm getting annoyed!" Alex yelled again as he fired another arrow, creating an ice wall as a brief barrier. The fox ran over to the pair, looking over Wun. She was completely knocked out, sheer exhaustion. The fox almost started cussing again when a screech filled the air, Alex whirled around to see…a Nevermore approaching, "Of course, Dust me right in my ass with a sharp dildo."

"Alex, can you shoot it down?" Emily asked, more out of hope that anything else.

"I might…" Alex said as he reached back…only discover he was completely out of arrows, "…Oh no…"

"Alex, that Nevermore is going to go after the ships, we need to take it down." The calm leader said as she grabbed her weapon.

"Stay with her, I've got a plan," Alex said as he put his bow on the ground, Emily gave him a questioning look as he grabbed a piece of metal and broke of an end. He raised his thumb to the sky, sighting it in just right, "Did I ever mention I used to do javelin?"

The fox threw the spear, the metal rod rocketing towards its quarry, the Nevermore screamed as it hit. The creature started going down.

"Yes!" Alex yelled, right before realizing it was coming towards the trio, "Crap!"

"Alex…do you have a plan for this?" Emily yelled, her hope running on fumes.

"I do actually," Alex said as he stepped forward, "It's the only option that will definitely work."

Emily racked her mind, trying to figure out what he meant, right before her eyes widened.

"Alex, that's madness!" She yelled as she started to get up, ignoring the part where the Grimm was getting closer.

"Madness?" Alex said as the creature burst through the ice barrier, "This…Is…ROSA!"

As he yelled that, he lashed out with a devastating kick, the Nevermore screeched again as it was sent back. Alex yelled as he felt the impact, every nerve on fire, he could feel the crack of every bone, the damage of the blow shattering his right leg. The Nevermore? It got the worst of it, the creature literally disintegrated as it flew back. Alex fell to the floor, groaning as he gently grabbed his leg.

Emily stared past him, he had saved them from the bird…but the Grimm were still coming, that's when the airships finally arrived.

 **End Music…**

"Fire!" A female voice echoed as the soldiers fired their weapons, mowing down the approaching Grimm. The woman walked out, she looked over Emily, Wun, and the still groaning Alex with red eyes, "Get those two on the ship, you…can you still fight?"

Emily nodded as she got to her feet, turning her weapons on full. Alex groaned as the soldiers picked him up, a medic gingerly looking over his leg.

"Completely shattered," The doctor said with a German accent as he adjusted his glasses, "Get him on the ship and give him twenty CC's. The girl? She's just tired, let her rest."

"Thanks medic, stand ready to look over others." The woman ordered, the man nodded, only to start stumbling as the ground started shaking. The people all looked at each other as they heard a burst, they looked at Mt. Glenn….with a Dragon bursting out of it.

"Please tell me that's the drugs." Alex asked.

"Are you kidding me? That's not a legend?" Richard yelled as he and Maul paused in their fighting, they were in something akin to a foundry.

"A goddamned dragon?" Ben yelled as he took a few steps back, Cruril stopping and starting as well.

"No…not this…" Aedan whispered as his hands clenched on his katana.

"Oh…shit." Jesse muttered as he and his companions got to the square.

"Oh ok," Rick yelled as he stared, "A dragon…that's a thing…WHY IS THAT A THING?"

"Rick…I love you," Micca said as Rick finished, he gave her a strange look, "In case we don't make it…"

"Oh hell," Beowulf muttered before turning to face Perseus, "Hey…I need to ask you a favor…"

"What is it?" The Greek asked, Beowulf handed him something.

"You know what to do with this," The Viking said as he started off, "I'm off to kill me a dragon…"


	11. The Beginning of a New Life

Beowulf slowly walked away from his team, the two nodding as they turned to keep fighting. They understood, this was Beowulf's fight. The Viking slowly strode along, the Grimm ignoring him as he kept moving. Finally, he stopped at a clearing, the man took a deep breath as he raised his arms across his face. Beowulf's arms flew apart as he suddenly bellowed, his eyes glowing yellow, his hair growing greyer, and his face suddenly appearing to gain black war paint.

His bellow carried far, everyone heard it, from the remnants of the defenders to the Grimm of the sky, including the dragon. It whirled around in mid-air, something akin to fear filling it's body, right before being replaced by cold rage. It roared as it charged at the source of the voice, Beowulf could see it coming. The Viking stabbed his heavy blade into the ground, right before ripping out his smaller blade.

The huge blade suddenly deployed another handle which the man grabbed, with a quick flick of the wrist, the blade was in his hand. Beowulf eyed his opponent, right before screaming as he charged into battle…

 **At the Foundry…**

Richard and Maul paused as the roar reached them, a pause that lasted a single moment, but to them? It could have been an eternity.

 **Insert "Duel of Fates," John Williams…**

Richard and Maul snapped back to each other, both readying their weapons. Richard yelled as he charged forward, slashing Maul across the chest. The tiger snarled as he whirled around and kicked the monk back, right before he tried to slash Richard in the chest. The monk simply flipped backwards, landing on his feet.

"And why do you keep fighting?" Maul yelled as he charged forward again, slashing at his opponents legs, "Can't you see that you've already lost? Look around you, everything is burning!"

Richard growled as he leapt over the slash, right before planting a kick right to the tiger's skull. He followed up by stabbing forward, Maul swung his weapon to deflect the slash. Richard followed up by head-butting the tiger, right before he slammed his fist into the man's gut. Maul was sent back a few steps, his snarl filling the air.

"The battle is lost?" Richard said as he recovered, "The battle is not over yet, especially not this one, this one's been raging for five years!"

"Oh it has?" Maul yelled as he rushed forward, slashing down at the monk, who nimble dodged to the right, "You've devoted your entire life to revenge? Our master would not have been pleased."

"You're right," Richard said with a dark laugh, "But I haven't been devoting my life to revenge, I've been fighting. Not to kill you, but to defend the people."

"The people? You mean those weak fools that go here?" Maul yelled as he rushed forward again, kicking the monk away, "They are nothing! Just like you…You aren't worthy!"

"That's the thing isn't it," Richard said as landed near the edge of a heat chute, "Worthiness…the thing that drives you."

"You are nothing, I should have been the one to receive the master twin blade, not some…human." Maul yelled, his eyes starting to glaze over in a rage.

"That was five years ago, and you still can't let it go," The Monk said with a laugh, "That…in the end, he chose me over you."

"You...you are a human!" Maul yelled as he jumped forward, slamming his foot down, only narrowly missing the monk as he rolled away, "The humans are the ones who oppress us!"

"And that was your greatest failing, you couldn't look past your own hatred," Richard said as he rolled to his feet, "You were consumed by it, you wanted to desperately to make them pay. To make all of them pay."

"They deserve to burn!" Maul yelled as he lashed forward, slamming his blade into Richard and launching him into a stack of nearby crates, "They deserve to die!"

"Heh," Richard muttered as he got slowly to his feet, he could feel the damage taking its toll, "Rage…for so long it guided me too, until about the beginning of this year. I made some new friends, and you know what?"

"Shut up and die!" The tiger yelled as he rushed forward, slashing at Richard who blocked with his weapon, only for the blade that was being used to shatter. Maul smiled, only to snarl as Richard didn't even seem to notice.

"Do you remember the forbidden Dust that the master told us about?" Richard said as he rolled away again, getting back to his feet, "The one that you could create from anything with the proper amount of rage?"

"I remember, but it was a tool for the weak," Maul said as he readied for the kill, "Just like you…"

"Yeah, just like me, for a long time, I used it," Richard whispered as he readied himself, "My hatred for you…but then something happened, those friends? They taught me something, something that you can't learn in a dojo or a book. Love…team RWBY, Team JNPR, Team CVFY, and even that bastard Rick…reminded me of what it meant to love and be loved."

"Oh really?" Maul muttered as he pointed his weapon at the Monk, "Well then…I'll be sure to pay them a visit after you're gone…that little one, Ruby, would so cute with her mouth around my…"

The Tiger faunas didn't finish as Richard seized forward, Maul smiled as the teen neared. That had been his plan, to goad his opponent into attacking. Maul brought his blade down, ready to cut his opponent down to size.

"Accelerate, times three!" Richard yelled as he got close, Maul smile grew even brighter, that wouldn't save him. Maul was already to close, but Richard did something that Maul didn't expect, something that was insane. The monk…raised his left hand, allowing the blade to pass through it, severing it…but slowing it down just enough to allow Richard to whirl around and slash through the faunas' waist.

Maul's eyes widened as he felt the blade pass through him, right before he felt himself falling. Richard stopped moving as the tiger fell, the look of incredulity frozen on his face. Richard canceled out his semblance, speeding up might have allowed him to get those few extra milliseconds to finish his work, but they also prolonged the agony that he felt. The monk grit his teeth as he pulled out some fire Dust and smashed it into the wound, searing it shut.

"Son of a bitch that hurt," Richard muttered as he looked at the blade in his hand as well as the master twin blade on the ground near his feet, "Time…for letting go."

And with that, he dropped and kicked the three blades down the shaft. Richard smiled, in all his arrogance, Maul forgot one of the most important rules…be aware of your surroundings.

 **End Music…**

 **Begin "Built For War," Megedeth…**

Beowulf roared as he cleaved a Beowolf in two, another Ursa fell by his blade as he whirled around. The Grimm were all scrambling to protect the dragon, they could feel the danger this man presented and they had to stop it. Only problem was that Beowulf semblance made him prettily unstoppable, it didn't just increase his strength and speed, it also increased his endurance. The Viking was truly an unstoppable beast of war…but he knew he was on the clock.

He had used this form for an extended period once before, for ten minutes, and he felt it. Twenty years gone from his life, he had to make every second count with this. The Viking roared as he head-butted a Griffon into a black paste, another he bit on with his teeth and shook it like a rag doll until a snap was heard. Beowulf roared again, challenging the dragon, this time…a response was gained.

The Viking looked up to see the dragon coming down from the heavens with the intention of smiting him, Beowulf roared…right before he took off up the side of a building. He leaped and bounded, right before he leapt off…and right onto the creatures head. The creature screeched as Beowulf stabbed his smaller blade into the creature's skull, gaining a handhold as he snarled. A sound filled his ears and the Viking narrowly brought his sword around in time to slash the Ursa that had been summoned behind him.

More Grimm were coming out of the dragon, Beowulf roared as he ripped his blade out and charged, Grimm fell by the blades. The Viking a whirling death machine as he slashed apart Beowolves, Ursa, Griffon, hell, even a King Taijitu that he stabbed one head right before leaping over and slamming his big sword into the other one. Beowulf smiled, right before the dragon roared and started spinning.

The Viking yelled as he fell, slamming through four walls before landing in a courtyard. The Viking roared as he got to his feet, the dragon landing right in front of him. Beowulf snarled at the beast…right before he felt a sharp pain in the back of his right knee, his head snapped around to see…a Deathstalker with its stinger firmly embedded into his leg.

His eyes widened, for his semblance might protect him against things ranging from bullets to concrete walls…but the one thing it didn't protect against? Poison, the dragon could feel his despair and, with its fight done, flew away. Beowulf roared as he grabbed the Deathstalker tail, ripping it out as he threw it over his shoulder, sending it careening into a wall.

The wall shattered, but Beowulf didn't feel satisfaction…he knew what this meant…he was going to die, but damned if he wasn't going to take that thing with him…

 **End music…Begin "Eyes of a Stranger," Queensryche…**

 **In the general armory…**

Ben was sent through the doors, skidding across the ground. The ninja coughed as he got to his feet, turning to face his opponent. Cruril walked in, his uniform dirty and bloody, his mask chipped and bloody. The ninja readied himself, his wounds burning as he did. Ben wouldn't deny it, Cruril was far out of his league, but, if Rick had taught him anything, he had to keep fighting.

The ninja yelled as he surged forward, his steel clashing with Cruril's. The assassin grunted as they pushed against each other, the assassin had to admit…this kid was impressive, if not for the money being paid, he would have taken this kid to his masters. They would've been able to turn him into the best assassin of this generation, but business is business.

Cruril lashed out with a kick, knocking the teen back again, right before he kicked Ben's skull. The teen fell to the floor, his lips bloody as a cut was rendered. The ninja whirled around, swinging his whip, which Cruril barely dodged, only to have Ben upon him in seconds. The ninja slammed his fist into the assassin's stomach, right before he wrapped his chain around the man's leg and pulled.

Cruril fell to his back, but jumped to his feet and followed the attack with one of his own, right before he slashed Ben's chest. The blades cutting into the teens flesh, but the ninja didn't scream or cry out. He simply stabbed forward, Cruril narrowly dodged, getting a cut on his cheek for his trouble. The assassin ducked down, kicking at the teens legs, who simply dodged the kick and slammed his foot downwards.

Cruril spread his legs to avoid the strike, right before he jumped to his feet…only for Ben to follow with a flurry of stabs at his chest, the move giving Cruril pause as he leapt back. He had seen that before, on a dead man.

"Tell me, what do you know of a man named, Azul de la Vega?" The assassin asked as he started to walk around, prompting Ben to do the same.

"He was a friend of mine, why do you ask?" Ben answered, the teen using this distraction to catch his breath.

"Funny…did he teach you any tricks?" Cruril asked suddenly, prompting Ben to give him a strange look.

"Yes…a few." The ninja responded, not sure what to make of this situation.

"What about… _Jeugo de piernas?"_ Cruril asked his eyes following Ben's feet.

"No…what the hell does footwork have to do with this?" Ben asked, his confusion evident.

"Interesting…that means that this is the fourth time we've fought…" Cruril said with a sigh, "Damn…a pity…"

"What are you going on about? I've only met you once before." Ben said back.

"A third time of failing means death in my order," Cruril said, ignoring the ninja, "But I know what you are."

"Seriously, what are you on about?" Ben yelled as Cruril suddenly bit down on something, the ninja yelped as he ran forward. He grabbed Cruril, only for the assassin to pull him closer.

" _La…Dron…de…Al…ma…"_ Cruril muttered into Ben's ear, Ben's eyes widened as he dropped the assassin's now dead body to the ground.

"No…No…that's…not possible…" Ben said, covering his ears, "No…No…dear…Dust…No…"

 **End Music…**

Beowulf barely opened the doors to the cafeteria, his strength ebbing. His face was back to normal, the Viking didn't want to tax his body any more than he had too. He had come here because he had seen the dragon flying this direction, his breathing was erratic. Beowulf kept moving forward, grabbing a table for support. He almost fell…right before whirling around and raising his sword to block a strike a familiar grey haired teen.

"He's still standing," Mercury said in a mocking tone as Emerald walked beside him, "I'm impressed."

"Mercury, let's get this done," The thief said, a slight gaze of pity coming over her as she looked at the once impressive warrior, "We've got to get out of here as quick as possible."

"What? He shouldn't be too hard to kill, he's weak now." Mercury said as he looked over the Viking, who suddenly started laughing. Both of Cinder's henchman gave him a strange look as he righted himself, the man seemed to be in a deranged fit of laughter.

"I'm not dead yet," Beowulf said with a laugh, "If you're going to kill me…then you're going to have to work for it."

Mercury smiled as he ran forward, leaping up to slam his leg down. Beowulf roared as he brought his sword up, slamming the teens feet away right before Emerald jumped in, slashing at Beowulf with her blades. The Viking grabbed the table he was using and flipped it up, the green blades embedding themselves into the wood. He roared with effort as he threw the table away, right before he slashed at Mercury, who was coming in for another kick.

The grey haired teen dodged, right before kicking Beowulf in the chest, his guns rocketing him off of the massive teen. Beowulf barely budged as he watched the teen fly away, the Viking then ducked another slash from Emerald. Her eyes widened as Beowulf grabbed her chains and swung her around, slamming her into the still falling Mercury.

"Easy…right…" Emerald muttered to Mercury as the teen got up.

"I've got an idea, why don't you hallucinate him to death?" Mercury fired back.

"With everything that's going on, it's literally impossible to focus right now," Emerald snapped back before noticing something, "Hey…why hasn't he started walking towards us?"

Mercury's eyes snapped back, Emerald was right…they were completely vulnerable…why wasn't he pressing his advantage. That's when the grey haired teen smiled.

"He can barely walk, he can't charge us," Mercury said back, noticing how Beowulf was leaning on his sword, "Well then…I've got this."

The teen smiled as he leapt onto his hands and started firing his legs into the air, creating the cyclone like what he did with Yang. Beowulf's eyes widened at the technique and Mercury smiled as the blast all came towards the Viking, the first one created smoke that obscured the grey haired teen's vision. That's when an ungodly roar could be heard, Mercury jumped to his feet as the dust cloud got closer and, before he could react, Beowulf came out of the smoke…and grabbed the grey haired teen and shoved his sword through the teens gut.

Mercury realized what those eyes were, they weren't eyes of fear…they were eyes of hatred, of rage, of the berserker fury of Beowulf. A fury that could carry him beyond normal injury, a fury that had nothing to do with his semblance, just pure rage. Beowulf roared as he swung the blade around, throwing Mercury into Emerald, sending them both into the wall.

Mercury was fine, of course, Aura was a great thing to have…but that's when the ceiling fell. Both Emerald and Mercury yelled as it started to collapse, burying them. Both Emerald and Mercury were trapped, the ceiling was made of solid stone.

"No…I can't die here!" Mercury yelled. Emerald, unable to conjure up words, simply started to break down. She was going to die…she would never get to see Cinder again, she would never get to see light again, she would never…that's when a roar was heard again. The rock shifting and stirring…right before it was lifted off of them. Both of the teen's eyes were wide as Beowulf, with the last of his strength, threw the stone off of them.

The warrior collapsed as he threw it, his strength sapped. Mercury whooped as he leapt to his feet and started running. Emerald stopped and looked at the fallen, struggling to draw breath.

"Why?" The thief asked.

"Because…No more death today, my heart can't take it, go…" Beowulf answered back, the thief looked at him right before she ran over and grabbed his sword and took off, following Mercury. Beowulf looked out through a window, the moon shining brightly, "It's too bad…that I never got to find out if it was true…what they say about the silver eyes…heh…"

And with that…Beowulf sighed, his breath forever leaving his breast. The brave warrior, the last known relative of his kind, the last descendent of Beowulf…passed on, though he would soon be joined by many others…

 **At the Circle…**

Rick stood over the fallen with his axe in hand, currently, Ben, who was staring at the ground in shock, Richard, who was looking over everyone, Emily, Nora, Ren, and Blake were under his care…oh, and Yang was there to…minus an arm. Needless to say, Rick was royally pissed off but he stood guard because he knew he couldn't leave them alone. Mary was next to him as well, they hadn't talked much but both were keeping an eye out.

Weiss ran up, only to cover her mouth at the sight. Ruby ran beside her, Weiss turned around as she heard the reapers footsteps. She breathed a sigh of relief, she was worried that she might have lost her rose.

"Ruby!" She yelled as she took the girls hands.

"Don't worry, I'm fine, what's going on?" The younger girl asked, the heiress looked disturbed at the question, "Weiss…what's wrong?"

The heiress stepped aside to reveal the injured Yang, Ruby's eyes widened as she saw Blake apologize.

"Yang…" Ruby whispered.

"Hey," Sun's voice distracted the girl, "She's gonna be OK, the soldiers have a ship ready to take you guys to Vale."

"But Jaune and Pyrrha are still missing!" Nora yelled, only to grab her side in pain.

"Look guys that giant Grimm keeps circling the school,"Sun yelled as he pointed at the sky, "Even the White Fang are pulling out, and we all have to go, now!"

"We're not leaving." Ren yelled as he got up, only to collapse.

"I'll find them," Ruby said with determination, "I'll find them and I'll bring them back."

"No, we'll find them and bring them back," Weiss said suddenly, "You watch over Blake and Yang, we'll be back."

"You'd better be!" Sun yelled as the pair ran off, "Idiots."

"Hey, at least they're watching each other's backs." Rick said as he got up.

"You too?" Sun asked.

"Damn right, besides…both Micca and Wun are still out there. I'm not leaving till I get some confirmation about." The psychopath said right before Micca's voice broke out over the crowd.

"Rick! It's a trap!" Her voice yelled out, Rick turned to see Wun and Micca running towards him…right before he was pushed down. Rick heard a sound he knew all too well, the squishy sound of someone being impaled. The psycho whirled around to see Emily in his place…with a sword through her gut.

"Emily!" Rick yelled as he got to his feet, only to block another stab from said sword. Rick got a good look at the assailant, "What the hell Mary?"

"Worthless girl," Mary said as she pulled back on her strings, dragging the sword back, "She got in my way."

"Why?" Rick yelled, still confused.

"She's a double agent for the White Fang," Wun yelled as she got closer, "She's been feeding Cinder and the White Fang intel for months now!"

"What?" Rick yelled again, this time with rage coming into his voice.

"Silence!" Mary yelled as she threw her hand out, the blade careening at Wun. Rick jumped in and batted the blade aside, his eyes full of fury.

"Guys…I'll handle her," Rick said, his voice cold and low, "Micca…get Wun out of here, and I'd hate to lose a potential sister in law."

"But…" Nora started before Rick cut her off.

"No…this is my fight…besides, I've wanted to fight her for a long time." Rick yelled as he charged forward, slashing at Mary. The girl growled as she dodged Rick's strikes, right before she followed Rick as he took off.

"Damn crazy bastard," Richard muttered as he saw him go, "Leading her away from us…"

"To protect us?" Ren asked.

"Not from her, from himself…" The monk answered, watching the teens run off.

"Micca!" Wun yelled, grabbing everyone attention, they all turned to see Micca's armor opening, and her falling out of it. Richard ran over, checking the snake faunas.

"She's fine, just exhausted, get her to the ship," The monk ordered, Wun nodded as she picked her older sister up, "Hope Rick's doing better than she is…"

 **In a clearing…**

 **Insert "Prayers," In this Moment…**

Rick yelled as he charged forward, his ax glancing off Mary's blade. The younger girl jumped back, sending out her wires. Rick pressed the offensive, not letting her get an advantage. The psycho slashed and hacked, each blow forcing the girl to step back.

"Why? Damn it why?" Rick yelled as he rushed forward, ramming into her, sending her back even further.

"Why? Isn't it simple? I want revenge…on you." Mary whispered as she twiddled her fingers, Rick narrowly dodged some of the wires closing in.

"For what? I've never done anything to you!" The psycho yelled as he threw a knife at his opponent, Mary's wires caught it midair.

"Don't lie to me, you stole it," Mary screamed as she twiddled her fingers again, the wires trying to entangle Rick, who simply swung his ax to cut them were they stood, "My semblance…give it back!"

"Your semblance?" Rick yelled as he rushed forward, dodging more wires, "I don't what happened with it…I didn't steal it though."

"Liar!" Mary yelled as she jumped back, she looked back at a building, "You'll pay for stealing it!"

"You know what? I didn't steal it," Rick yelled, "But I'm damn glad it's gone, you were the devil with it."

"I was a goddess!" Mary yelled as she kicked open the door, "I should have been ruling you! All of you!"

"What the hell are you going on about? You would've died before that!" Rick yelled, trying to get through the shell of delusion that Mary had up.

"You know I wouldn't have, you've always know, you've always been jealous! I was always better than you, I AM better than you!" Mary yelled as she leapt back into the room, her wires, already preset, all converged into her hands, "And I'm going to prove it…"

"Like hell!" Rick yelled as he pulled out his revolver, he had led her here for this very reason…he had a straight shot. Rick, despite primarily using melee weapons, still knew how to shot straight, his upbringing had taught him well. How ironic, that he was using his upbringing to kill his own kin. Rick pulled the trigger, the gun fired…only for Mary to twiddle her finger again. This time, something flew in front of her, something soft and squishy. Rick's eyes widened as he saw the item…Tin…her dead body, his eyes widened…she had, in her delusion, murdered her team. Rick fell to his knees…No, not something like this, this was monstrous…Mary needed to die…and the Butcher…had just taken control…

 **End Music…**

 **Cut to Aedan standing…**

"Please…" Jaune's voice over his scroll made Aedan's eyes narrow, Pyrrha was in danger, and one of his children was in danger. Aedan put his scroll up, pulled out a flask, this one different from his others. It was clear, filled with clear liquid. The bartender drank it…and then lit himself on fire, he was going to get to the top of that tower…

 **Back to Rick…**

 **Insert "Sin with a Grin," Shinedown…**

Rick laughed as he pulled his chainsaw off his back, Mary giving a scared look. Rick…Rick would never use a chainsaw on her, right? Her fear doubled as he revved it up, his smile was wide as he looked around.

"I'm gonna kill you," The Butcher said, "And then? I'm going to skip rope with your intestines!"

As he yelled that, the Butcher surged forward, Mary raised the dead body of Tin to try and slow him down, but the Butcher just slammed his weapon into the corpse. The chainsaw roared as it cut through the body, the low light obscured the blood and viscera, but Mary could barely make it out. The Butcher kept smiling as he surged forward, Mary screamed as she twiddled her fingers, various weapons appeared almost out of thin air.

Guns, blades, maces, and even more dead bodies filled the room making it look like a cornucopia of death and death dealers. Rick yelled as they came for him, he knocked the blades out of the air with a bat of his chainsaw, he grabbed the bodies and used them as human shields for the guns, and he grabbed the guns to mulch down the rest of the bodies. Rick yelled as he ripped and tear, until there was nothing left.

Mary stood transfixed at the display, the blood, the spent casings, and the smell of gas filled the room and she stood there, she suddenly smiled…she had him. Her fingers twitched, and the psychopath felt the wires wrap around his legs, his arms, his neck, everything. They went taught, giving him no inch of movement…

 **End music…**

"Now that that display is over," Mary said as she brought the Butcher closer, her wires stringing him up like trophy, "I can continue, tell me where it is."

"I'll tell," The Butcher said, raising his head to stare Mary in the eyes, "I'll tell you were the power is, in my right hand."

Mary's eyebrows rose at that statement as she looked over at said arm…only to scream as she saw that it held a fire Dust crystal, the Butcher crushed it, the fire going down his arm. The wires, not treated for flames, all snapped. The Butcher grabbed Mary and shoved her back, grabbing her gloves in the process.

"No!" Mary yelled as the wires went limp, letting the Butcher down. The fire still raged on his arm, the psycho looked at the burning flesh, the smell reaching his lips…and he started laughing. His laugh was brutal, psychotic, hungry…the fire faded as he came closer. The burnt flesh healing before Mary's very eyes, the Butcher laughing as it did.

The laughter hid the intense pain as the wound healed, the pain increasing a thousandful from when it first lit. The Butcher slowly approached Mary, who fell down.

"Rick…you…you're not a killer," Mary said confidently, "You can't kill me."

"I'm not Rick," The Butcher said simply, Mary's eyes widened as he brought up the chainsaw and, without pulling the cord, started it up, "Scream for me…"

Mary's screams were almost drowned out by the Butcher laughter, the Butcher walked out when he was finished, Mary's body was left hanging from her own wires. She was dead, very dead. He walked over to a wall…and slammed his head into it.

"Ow!" Rick yelled as he regained control, his head aching, "She dead?"

"Damn right she is," The Butcher said through Rick's lips, "Oh…her screams were delicious."

"If you…" Rick started before the Butcher cut him off.

"I won't, team RWBY, JNPR, EMBR, and all those other people…I won't hurt them, I like them, remember?" The Butcher said with a grin.

"Yeah…I know." Rick said as a bright light suddenly came from the tower, the psycho looked up…right before he blacked out.

 **A few days later…**

Rick woke with a start, he looked around the room. It was a small cabin, a wood stove in the corner for warmth, two beds, and a small table for two. The psychopath ripped the blankets off of himself as he jumped to his feet, almost falling down as he landed. He could feel the weakness of his bones as he steadied himself, he jumped when the door opened. Micca strolled in, wearing her usual attire.

The snake faunas seemed surprised at the psychopaths rising, but she smiled as she walked over and hugged him.

"You're awake," She whispered as she tightened the hug, "That's good."

"Where am I? What happened? What was that light?" Rick stammered, his confusion evident.

"Calm down, we're safe," Micca said as she gently pushed onto the bed, "We're in Patch, near Ruby and Yang's home. They're letting us use this spare cabin as well…we kind of don't have a place to go. Tradition was evacuated, it's empty for now. As for what happened? Well…"

"What's wrong?" Rick asked, picking up on Micca's hesitance.

"Rick…did you ever notice that Ruby has silver eyes?" Micca asked, Rick nodded, not following.

"Well…she…might have frozen the dragon in time, it can't move. It's attracting more Grimm, but it's 'stopped,' for now." Micca said with a smile, trying to hide something.

"Good for her," Rick said with a grin, "So we've just got to find Owen…"

"Rick, Owen's dead, he died healing someone with his semblance." Micca said.

"Oh…well, at least he did it doing something that was worthy of himself," Rick said, the death not affecting him in the slightest (for multiple reasons, mainly being that he knew that Shaun and Owen were finally reunited.) "Then we just need to find RWBY and JNPR and…"

"Rick…Pyrrha's dead." Micca whispered, barely holding back tears. Rick stopped dead in his tracks, he slowly turned.

"That's not funny," Rick replied back, Micca's tears answered him, "No…she can't be, she wouldn't…"

Rick stared at the wall for a few seconds.

"She…DAMNIT!" Rick yelled, slamming his fist into the wall, his cries of grief echoing throughout the forest. He leapt to his feet, grabbing Micca's shoulder, "Who did it? I'll kill them! I'll rip their hearts and feed it to their mothers, I'll rip out their spine and apply it to their children, I'll…"

"I'm sorry!" Micca yelled as she grabbed him and jammed a needle into his skin, Rick felt the cold as it did its work. He fell back onto the bed, losing himself in the blackness. He woke up later, this time, Micca was holding his head, "She's dead, I…I…I'm so sorry."

"So am I," Rick muttered as he got up, "What about everyone else? Who else did we lose?"

"Master Misho, Leonidas, and Caramel died holding off the Grimm so we could escape, Beowulf is dead and his sword is nowhere to be found," Micca said after taking a deep breath, "Emily…I don't know what happened to her, Richard and Ben are still in Vale, Richard's getting a new arm and Ben…he's not talking to anyone. Blake…she took off, I think she's still in Vale as well. Weiss's father came by and picked her up, Alex went with him. Apparently he heard about Alex's research and was impressed."

"What about Ruby and Yang?" Rick asked.

"They're both here, Ruby woke up yesterday and Yang…" Micca sighed, "I don't know about Yang…she's taking everything really hard. Aedan's…around, I haven't gotten much on him."

"Ruby's awake?" Rick asked, Micca nodded, "What about Wun?"

"She's with Uni, I sent her there. She'll be safe," Micca answered, Rick got to his feet, "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to talk with Ruby…see what she's got planned." Rick answered as he exited, Micca smiled as she saw him walk away. At least he was on his feet…sometimes you need to take things in small packages.

 **Insert "Hurt," Johnny Cash…**

Richard was sitting at a desk, looking over papers with a furrowed brow.

Ben looked at the bar with dead eyes, the bartender walked over with a bottle of tequila. Ben nodded as the man put it down in front of him.

Jesse lit a smoke as he looked over a map of Vale, he had a job to do.

Rick made it to the cabin of Ruby and Yang, he knocked and was let inside. The girl's father went on about this and that…but Rick didn't care, he walked into Ruby's room with a frown. Taiyang closed the door as Ruby looked at the psycho…right before she ran over and buried her face in his chest, her grief was palpable.

"What's the plan?" Rick asked, Ruby didn't respond through her sobs, "Tell me whenever you're ready…after all, you're like a sister to me, what kind of brother would I be if I let you do something stupid without my help?"

 **A season change later…**

"Ready?" Jaune's voice made Ruby turn around, she nodded as she looked at the remnants of JNPR.

"We are," Rick answered, Ruby turned to see Micca and Rick ready to go. Micca had cut her hair and adopted a long, mango colored trench coat, her weapon hung over her shoulder. Rick was sporting a beard and was wearing a trench coat over a black combat suit, a new mask hung on his arm, this one a solid thing of metal with two white eye holes. His back was covered with a chainsaw, a double barreled shotgun, and his ax hanging from his hip.

The group nodded as they started off, ready to face the challenges of heroes. From a distance, Aedan and Qrow looked over them. Aedan was wearing a trench coat with a hood over his face, the pair looked at each other, nodded, and went off. Aedan stopping and coughing into his hands, he pulled them away to reveal blood. The hand closed into a fist…

 **After credits scene…**

The White Fang fell to the floor, his back against the wall.

"Tell your bosses, amigo, that I send my regards…" A voice from the darkness came…and three quick flashes followed, a Z being carved into the man's chest…

 **And it's done, Volume Three is done. Let me tell you, writing this season was actually really difficult because of the emotional roller coaster, but I got it done. Before I give my two cents on Pyrrha's death, allow me to get the usual stuff off my chest.**

 **Thanks to Zivon for allowing me to pester him with ideas, thanks to Deadalivemaniac for actually giving me something to compare Beowulf too, and thanks to you, the readers for reading it.**

 **And, if you're interested, be sure to check out the new most popular story on my profile, the Black Swordsman of Vale, a Berserk inspired RWBY story.**

 **And now for the Pyrrha thing, fair warning, spoilers for Game of Thrones S6 ahead…**

 **OK, I will start by saying that I, personally, don't think Pyrrha's permanently gone. Now, before you start yelling on how the voice actor said that she's truly dead, let me clarify something about "Truly dead," it means that she is dead, no questions asked, she's not being kept in stasis by Cinder or Salam to be used later, she's not inhabiting another's body, she's dead. However, truly dead and permanently dead ae two different things.**

 **Remember, Jon Snow's actor said he was truly dead, but he came back…did he lie? No, Jon Snow was dead but he came back from the dead, as I said before, truly dead means that the character is dead, and no bullshit for them to be somehow alive. This does not mean she's permanently dead, as for what I think is going to happen?**

 **Well, this is a little known fact, but Pyrrha isn't actually named for the general Pyrrha of Pyrrhic Victory fame, but is actually named after a Greek goddess of the earth…and, here's the kicker, Jaune Arc is based off of Joan of Arc who was able to communicate with God…see what I'm thinking here?**

 **Regardless…let's hear it for volume 4! The hype is real!**


	12. The Fall of Great Men and Women

**So, another chapter eh? Well I did forget do cover a few things in the last one and I'm kind of in the middle of planning for the next chapter of the Black Swordsman of Vale (debating on this and that) so I decided to take a bit of a break and get this out.**

"Ruby!" Richard yelled as Qrow carried her onto the airship, the last airship at that. The monk had stayed behind to keep an eye out for Rick, Ruby, and Aedan, despite only having one hand. Leonidas, Misho, Caramel, Teddy, and the cockney pilot where all that was left.

"I'm here too," Aedan's Irish accented voice sounded out as he carried Rick on board bridal style, "Get this ship moving."

The bartender set Rick down gently as he leaned back against the wall, right before coughing into his hand. He quickly hid it to hide the blood, his eyes looking around to makes sure no one saw.

"Hey, let's move already!" Aedan yelled before looking at his hidden hand, "Damn it, I can't bloody believe it."

"Aye sir," The captain said as he started up the ship, only for it to sputter and die, "Ah you damn piece of shite."

"What's going on?" Misho asked as he moved to the cockpit.

"Our aft stabilizing unit's shot, someone needs to repair it or we're all dead." The pilot said back as he got to his feet.

"Stay here, you're the only one here who can pilot us to the city," Misho said, slowly pushing the man back down, "I'll go, you'll just need to talk me through it."

"That's a one way trip," Leo said as he stepped forward, "The Grimm will be upon us at any moment."

"I know that," Misho said with a sigh, "That's why I'm going, I've lived a good life and I'm ready to die."

"You're not going out there alone," Leo said as he walked over and grabbed his shield, "Not without someone to watch your back."

"Sensei…" Aedan started before Misho held up his hand.

"It's alright Aedan, you stay here. Find who's responsible and make them realize there folly." Misho said as he started off the ship, Caramel also grabbed her weapon as he passed.

"Gonna need more than just him, besides...no one cares much for me at home, I'm not leaving much." The teen said as she exited the ramp, Leo, however, was stopped by Teddy.

"I'm sure as hell am not letting you go out there," The cowboy said with grit teeth, "We're a team you and I."

"You can barely stand, Ted." The Spartan said, looking over his friend's state. The cowboy was on his last legs, that fight earlier with the unexpected bullet to the chest had done a number on him. That soldier must have been an officer, he was using a high caliber bullet that wasn't common amongst average soldiers.

"I can still fight!" Teddy yelled as Leo turned to leave, the Spartan turned his head and smiled.

"I know you can, but I need you to do something far more important," Leonidas said as he moved off the ship, "Tell them of our victory, and tell Willow…I'm sorry. Make sure they hear you, make sure they know of the brave men and women who died here on this day."

"Sir, I…" Teddy started, before stopping himself. Leo was right, someone had to die to ensure their survival, "Yes sir."

"Good, close this door once we're out." Leo ordered as he followed the two off, Teddy grit his teeth once again as he pressed the button and closed the door.

"Leonidas, repair the ship." Misho ordered suddenly as the line of Grimm approached.

"What, why?" The Spartan asked, slightly confused.

"You're far more disciplined at following orders than me and you have full use of your hands," Misho said with a smile, "I forgot for a few second that I was old."

"…OK, can you still fight?" Leo asked, his hands twitching as he turned.

"That…I still can, go…get on it." The old man ordered, Leo nodded as he moved to the front of the ship. Caramel pulled out her weapon, her grip strong on it.

"I always hoped that I could add a few Taijitu heads to me wall," The woman laughed as she readied herself, "Always good to be ready to kill."

"Humor in the face of death, always good," Misho said with a genuine laugh, "I only wish that I could have had more time to teach my students, but enough of that…ready?"

Caramel's reply? To charge into the fray, Misho held back. He knew her plan, to do her best to thin the out before they got to them. The sensei pulled out his weapon…ready for combat.

 **Insert "Inis Mona," Eluveitie…**

Caramel roared as she charged into combat, her axe flying around in a circle slicing a pack of Beowolves in twain. A Ursa roared as it swung it's huge paw at her, she roared back as she dodged and, with her ax head glowing orange, she sliced it's head clean off. The head fell to the ground, perfectly preserved.

Caramel swung her ax again, this time catching a Taijutu's white head before swinging it around to kick it off. The black head tried to curl around and strike, but the ax shifted into its assault rifle form as she fired at it point blank. The head flew back as she leapt into the air, her weapon shifting to its halberd form as she caught a griffon that was trying to get past her.

The teen growled as she brought the creature down, landing in a pile of Grimm. She got to her feet before falling to a knee, she was exhausted from her previous battles and hadn't had time to rest. The growls of the Grimm brought her back to her senses, Caramel grit her teeth once again as she readied her weapon.

She wasn't going to let them get past her, she wasn't going to let them win, she wasn't going to let them…that's when she felt a strange sensation in her chest. Caramel looked down to see a golden stinger sticking out between her breasts, she felt the creature lift her up. The Grimm all gathered beneath her, snapping and snarling.

Misho watched as the body fell into that sea of black bodies, his eyes closing in sorrow as he heard the sound of tearing meat. His hand tightened on his weapon, and his eyes opened in a fiery fury.

 **End Music, insert "The Man of Sorrows," Iron Maiden…**

Misho readied himself as the Grimm charged, their maws covered in blood. He raised his weapon…and brought it down, the club hitting the ground as it erupted into spikes impaling various Grimm. The old man followed up by slamming his foot into the ground, creating a pillar of rock, which he kicked into the Grimm as they neared.

The rock crushed the Grimm into paste but they kept coming, a river of Grimm coming for the ship and Misho. The old man licked his lips as ripped his hands up, creating another set of spikes which impaled the Grimm. He then ripped them apart, making said spike fly outwards akin to a grenade. The Grimm where ripped to shreds, but still they came.

They were almost upon him, the snapping of teeth could be heard. He snarled as he slammed his weapon into the ground, creating a crater as the Grimm where shot back by his anger. The old man breathed heavily as he looked up to see the Grimm running down the small crater, Misho tried to raise his club…only for it to fall from his grasp.

The sensei couldn't help but smile as it did, it was about time his age caught up with him. The Grimm still approached, but Misho had one last trick. He reached for his weapon, and pressed a button. The handle came off to reveal a glowing, green Dust crystal. The crystal had multiple cracks in it, it was a unique thing. One of the last of its kind, he had found it during the War.

It was considered a legend, a Dust that could counter the effects of aging. Misho laughed as he picked it up, the Grimm still ran towards him…just a few step away.

"Remember me, Salam…I defy your kind one last time…" Misho whispered as he crushed the crystal, an Ursa's claw's inches away from his face. Everything paused in that brief moment, right before green energy burst from Misho's hand, encasing all the Grimm and himself in a bright green glow. The master's smile was frozen as his skin hardened, turning to stone.

The Grimm stood frozen as statues too, for they were rendered to stone as well. Misho's smile stood frozen at first, right before his body crumbled into dust.

 **End Music, Begin "The Art of War," By Sabaton (skip the first 30 sec.)**

Leonidas ignored the explosion as he moved the wires, the stabilizer flaring as he connected the wires.

"All right, now you just need to bypass the manual release, grab the yellow striped wire," The voice echoed from the intercom, Leo grunted as he grabbed the wire, "Now…rip it out."

Leo growled as he yanked it as hard as he could, adrenaline and anger made it much easier. The ship's engine fired up, a blast of heat blasting Leo back.

"There we go you blasted git, we should be ready to go, I'll open the doors and…" The pilot started, right before a Beowulf jumped on the wing, "Bloody bastard!"

Leonidas quickly pulled out his spear, which extended as he threw it. It was a simple weapon, one that Leo didn't name for it didn't deserve such a slander. The Grimm flew off dead, but the sound of the Grimm on the airship was loud for all to hear.

"Don't open the door," Leo yelled into the intercom, "The Grimm will get inside and this will all be for nothing, when I get those bastards off…fly."

"No, I'm not going to leave…" The pilot started to object before the Spartan cut him off.

"No arguing!" Leo yelled as he jumped on top of the ship, slashing at the various Ursa and Beowolves that were on top of it. He kicked off some, but he slashed most with his sword. His shield came around, slicing off a Beowolf head before he bashed an Ursa off. He jumped off, impaling the last of the Grimm that had gotten on top.

"We're out of here!" The pilot yelled as the ship started, Leonidas slashed another Ursa that was trying to leap on. The man roared as he swung around to cleave another Beowulf in twain, he head-butted another before stabbing it and pushing it back. Leonidas roared as ripped out his blade and stabbed it again, killing it. The Grimm all backed up a few steps, for what was radiating off of Leonidas was not anger or fear…it was elation.

Suddenly, a screech filled the air, Leonidas turned around to see a Nevermore swooping in at the ship. His sword fell to the ground, he ripped off his helmet as he started charging. His helmet blocked his vision, his sword weighed him down, he had to save them…to spit in the face of whatever person demanded the death of all these people. No more, he had decided, he wouldn't let those who died have died in vain.

He roared as he threw his shield with all his might, the Nevermore heard his cry and turned to regard him. The shield cleaved its head clean off, sending it crashing back to earth. Another Nevermore screeched as it turned to him, its red eyes closing in on the one man who did this. It screeched as its wings beat, its quills launching as it flung them.

Leonidas didn't cry as the quills pierced his body, he instead looked back up at the creatures…and roared one last time. The lions roar was cut off by the final volley of quills, killing the Spartan.

 **End the music…**

The ship landed on the ground, various medical people came, picking up Ruby and Rick from Aedan and Qrow respectively. Teddy walked off with his head held low, he had seen it…the death of Leonidas.

"Teddy!" The cowboy looked up to see Josephine and Willow coming to him.

"Where's Leo?" Willow asked, Teddy looked at her with tears in his eyes. The faunas looked at him…right before the information sunk in, she looked at the ground…right before walking away, her eye's filling with tears as well.

"What about Pyrrha? Did Ruby find her?" Josephine asked, hoping to get some good news. Teddy snapped to, he had forgotten about that in the chaos…but…Ruby and Rick had come back alone…then…that meant…

"Dust…No…" Teddy whispered, Josephine looked at his face…before realizing what he meant. Josephine looked at the direction that Willow had went and followed, she…she needed to talk to Willow…as well as be alone. The cowboy looked around, the events sinking in. They…had failed, Pyrrha was dead, Leonidas was dead, who knew who else? The cowboy's eye suddenly snapped as he saw a flash of green, a brown skinned girl in green with a certain sword in her arms. Teddy growled as he pulled his rifle off his back, he was going hunting.

 **Insert "Die," Jeff Williams…**

Emerald entered a warehouse full of shipping containers, she and Mercury had split up to avoid suspicion. Her back was killing her, Beowulf had a reason to be feared, this sword was freaking heavy. She didn't even know why she had taken it, it just seemed right at the time. Her thoughts were interrupted by the working of a lever action, she ducked behind a crate narrowly avoiding a shot.

"You did this!" Teddy yelled as he fired again, forcing Emerald to duck behind the container again. He worked the action as he kept firing, his magazine was quite large as Emerald was discovering, and "You killed them! You lied to us and killed them!"

Emerald quickly moved behind another container, she had to be careful. Her Aura was low and she didn't know how many shot she could take, she dodged another shot.

"You and your friends…you just killed hundreds of people! My friends!" Teddy yelled again as he fired, the bullets creating sparks as Emerald narrowly dodged them. The thief looked at him, the cowboy had gotten on top of the work deck and was firing down at her. She smiled…she had one option left, Emerald leapt out, dodging another shot from Teddy.

She swung her weapon out in its chain form, slashing the supports of the work deck. Teddy yelped as the deck fell, landing in a heap of metal. Emerald laughed, that wasn't too hard.

"Gonna take more than that," Teddy's voice made her stop dead in her laughing, she turned to face the cowboy, walking towards her with gun in one hand. He was obviously hurt from the fall, but was not out yet, "Damn you…Damn you to hell!"

As he screamed he pulled the trigger, the hammer fell onto nothing. He was out of ammo, Emerald still jumped though, dropping Beowulf's sword. Teddy quickly reloaded, but by the time he was done? Emerald was long gone, the doors opened behind him. Teddy turned to regard Perseus.

"What happened, we heard shots." The toga clad man asked, Teddy groaned as he looked around.

"Damn rats, running everywhere." The cowboy muttered, prompting Perseus to nod his head.

"Ted, let's get you to the infirmary." The man said, only for Teddy to stop him.

"Wait," Teddy said as he walked forward, Perseus followed him until the man pointed, "There."

The Greek's eyes widened as he took in the blade of Beowulf.

"Take it, hide it…they'll try to take it, try to make it a monument." Teddy said, his voice full of pain.

"Yeah…I know where to send it," Perseus said as he pulled out a necklace, a cross in a circle, "We lost, I can't believe it."

"We lost the battle, not the war," Teddy replied back, "And by whatever deity guides us…the war is not over."


	13. Why? Why Ozpin? Why?

**Well…this is a bit embarrassing, but after reading the last chapter again and deciding it didn't fit I decided to rewrite and add/remove some things from it. So enjoy, also for those of you wondering, MNF will continue probably around episode six of RWBY when it's released.**

Jesse looked at the bar with tired eyes, a drink firmly in his hand. The bags under his eyes told the other patrons to avoid him, his lips pursed as he looked at the paper in his hand. It was a report, one about a certain cat faunas. He had already forwarded it to the "proper," people, chiefly Richard Xsu (formally Richard Necro) and Ben Keno. He knew that Tai wouldn't show it to Yang, hell…he wouldn't but he had to tell at least someone who cared about her.

The bounty hunter groaned as he took another drink, setting the glass down and pointing at it. Sally nodded grimly as she refilled it, the girl had taken up with Mary in her bar to run things. Surprisingly enough, Sally's boyfriend from the area around Fate also came around, he was a bear faunas and he was a sight to behold. His big frame kept most other patrons in line, his fist kept the rest.

Jesse almost didn't notice the woman walk next to the bar, she wore a purple dress that was cut down the middle, revealing a decent amount of cleavage. Her eyes burned with an intense heat that made most of the men shrink from her gaze, Jesse would've laughed if he wasn't so pissed.

"I'll take a moonshine forge," The woman said, "Make sure to keep it coming."

Sally nodded as well, moving back to make the drink.

"Of all the gin joints in all the world," Jesse muttered as he drank his, "You had to walk into this one."

"Don't be so surprised Jesse," The woman said as she looked at him, "It's the only bar still open in this wasteland."

"No shit?" Jesse asked sarcastically, "I didn't notice, why are you here?"

"Because…I need your help." The woman in purple said as her drink arrived in a mason jar, she took it and started downing it as Sally refilled Jesse's drink.

"Really? You need my help?" The bounty hunter asked with a laugh, "Last time we talked, you told me to go soak my ass in whiskey, and lit up."

"Jesse…please…you know I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important." The woman asked as she put her hand on his shoulder.

"Ask your goddamned leader, he always seems to have a solution," Jesse growled as he downed another drink, he stopped when he heard the woman's sharp intake of breath, "What happened?"

"Jesse…Fantine is dead, so is Patton," The woman in purple said as she took another swig, "We were helping evacuate a town, Grimm and White Fang were attacking. Something about the town housing a weapon's cache for the military, Grimm got Patton. Her semblance made her go too far in, Fantine was…he was killed by a White Fang sniper."

"Really?" Jesse asked, "Theodora…I'm sorry…wait, what about Ravencroft?"

"She's…Jesse…she'll never fly again," Theodora gasped out, "A group of evacuees was pinned down, a White Fang throw a fire Dust grenade…she swooped in and…the blast annihilated her wings, burned them to a crisp. The only reason she's alive is because…is because Dirk showed up."

"Wait, Dirk as in…the guy who beat the hell out of Fantine and got away with it? He's around?" The bounty hunter asked, his voice full of surprise.

"Yes, he came in and helped. Thankfully, he's a doctor as well…we might have lost a lot of people if not for him. He's in the medical clinic now alongside Raven." Theodora said with a smile before it faded, she looked down at her feet.

"Theo…why did you come here? You said you had something important." Jesse said with a look, hoping to move off of this conversation.

"Right…I need your help," The woman said as she reached down and pulled up a suitcase, it was old and beat up…but still sturdy. It was a faded blue, a code impute was on the side, "I need you to help me found out how to open this."

"Seems to be a job for a locksmith, not a bounty hunter." Jesse said with a slight amount of confusion.

"Jesse…I came here because Fantine told me to," The woman said as she leaned in, "We managed to get him on a ship before he died, he told me to find you. He said that you were the key to finding the combination for this, after he told me where to find it."

"Really? Why would he do that?" The bounty hunter said as he scratched his chin, "Me and him hated each other."

"I don't know, but he must have had his reason," Theodora said, "Please…will you help me?"

"Sure…got nothing better to do," Jesse answered as he looked down at his drink, "Hey…mind if I ask you a quick question?"

"Sure…what?" The woman asked back, she wasn't going to lose him after she had just gotten him.

"Remember Raven Branwen?" Jesse asked, Theodora gave him an odd look.

"Yeah…I do, that bitch of a sister that Qrow had? Why?" The woman in purple asked, a bit worried.

"You see…a while back, she helped me out of a bad situation and I made her a deal…I would protect her daughter Yang," Jesse said as he turned to face Theo, "I failed…Yang is literally sitting at home right now without an arm."

"Are you afraid she's going to retaliate?" Theodora asked, only for Jesse to shake his head.

"No…and that just makes me pissed off," Jesse growled as his fist closed, "That bitch first abandon's her daughter, then dumps it on me and Tai to watch over her, then, after she loses an arm, doesn't even fucking visit her."

"So…what then?" Theo asked.

"Because…I'm sick and tired of this shit," Jesse growled as he looked over at Theo, "I want out of this town, you just gave me a chance. I finally get the chance to say screw this, I get to put my back to that bastard Ozpin's leftovers. Trust me…I owe you a big debt."

Jesse looked over at Sally and slammed his drink.

"Let's get out of here…" The man growled as he got to his feet, putting on his fedora.

 **Later, at a different time and different place…**

Blake passed through the dock town with grace, the faunas doing her best to avoid any attention. She didn't stop to look at the man in black playing a guitar at the side of the road, but he certainly looked at her. The man was tall, taller than her. His outfit consisted of a black suit with a black Spanish style cowboy hat, he wore a black bandana over his mouth as well as black gloves and cowboy boots. He looked at his case, filled with bills from passing bystanders. He smiled under his mask as he walked over and put his guitar up, a pulling out the bills as he adjusted his case.

Some of the passerby's looked at him, but none noticed the mirror in it as well. His brown eyes tracked the cat faunas as she moved through the crowd, he also noticed a hooded figure following her. The man frowned as he put his guitar up and, smoothly picking up his own case, started following them both. The two were so focused on their goals that neither of them noticed him as he followed along with ease, eventually, the three stopped at a ship.

Blake walked up to the crew member, a woman with dark skin, loading and asked her a few questions, both the cloaked figure and the man in black suddenly dove behind cover. Blake slowly moved onto the ship, the figure in the hood slowly snuck his way on board. The man in black also moved towards the ship, but he took a different approach.

" _Hola Amigo,"_ The man in black said as he approached, his voice sounding like a Hispanic gentleman, "What does a man have to do board this fine vessel?"

"I don't know if it's a fine vessel," The woman said as she turned to look at the man, only for her eyes to narrow, "And who might you be?"

"Pardon," The man said as he took off his mask to reveal a dirty blonde goatee, "I recently purchased passage on this vessel, but the captain forgot to mention to me if I just needed a ticket or identification."

"Really? Usually he's good at that…" The woman said with a sigh, "Do you have a ticket?"

"I believe so…allow me time to…" The man started, right before the ship's horn blew.

"Damn…look, do you have a ticket or not?" The woman said as she looked at the crewman holding the bridge.

"Sorry, _mi senorita,"_ The man said with an awkward laugh, "I seem to have forgotten it."

"Look, I can't let you board without a ticket, I'm sorry." The woman said as she turned her back to him.

"Look, I bought passage, surely I can board and talk to the captain…please…I'm on my way to see someone very close," The man said, his voice becoming filled with grief, "A dear friend of mine is suffering from the recent White Fang attacks and she needs my help, if I don't reach her…it'll be a death sentence."

The woman turned back with a look…and sighed.

"Let me check your case real quick," The woman said, the man smiled as he put down his case and clicked it open to reveal…a guitar, "Looks good…welcome aboard."

" _Gracias."_ The man said as he boarded, the ships horn blowing as he did. The woman cursed as she grabbed the last crate and followed him up, the man moved to the bow of the ship. The other passengers paid him no mind as he sat down, he opened his case…and pulled out his guitar and started playing. It was a slow tune, one that attracted attention, even Blake turned to look at the stranger. He kept his head down, his hat covering his face as he played. The passengers looked at him for a bit longer…before turning away. A few came by and threw some money into his open case, he nodded as they passed.

Blake turned away, not noticing the figure watching her from a distance wearing a robe, but the man in black saw.

 **A few hours later…**

The figure in the cloak looked over at Blake as she headed inside, it was time for most of the passengers to go to bed. He started forward…only for a strong grasp to fall on his shoulder and drag him over to the edge.

"Tell me," The man in black growled as he held him over the side, "Why I shouldn't drown you right here and now?"


	14. The Forging of Our Souls

**So…this isn't a full blow new chapter, more of a side thing really. It's also to give the announcement that the last chapter has been radically altered to suit the new plan for the story. Give it a read, trust me…you'll need it.**

 **R**

Rick groaned as he slammed the hammer down on the red, hot metal, shattering it once again. He looked down at the hunk of orange, before brushing it aside with his hammer. The psychopath cursed his luck, he had no experience forging weapons and here he was, trying to hammer out an axe blade.

"Goddamn it," Rick muttered under his breath as he reached for a thing of water, working in the forge was thirsty work, "What the hell am I supposed to be doing?"

He lifted the container to his lips…only to immediately spit it out, the liquid falling onto the flames, causing them to flare up.

"Moonshine," Rick sputtered in surprise, "Who the hell would bring this into a forge?"

Rick set the thing down and picked up a hammer, before stopping himself. The flames flaring up formed a picture in his mind…well…he might as well try it. Rick grabbed a hunk of metal and lowered it into the nearby forge, the coals glowing brightly as he stoked it. He grabbed the moonshine and poured it over the anvil as well as in a nearby bucket, the psychopath grinned as he pulled out his red hot metal and slowly put it on the anvil and watched as it flared up.

He picked up the hammer and raised it, the droplets of moonshine slowly falling as he did, he brought the hammer down hard, sending droplets of flaming liquid past his eyes. The psychopath grinned as he brought the hammer up and brought it down again, sending more sparks in the air. Rick had no idea if it was helping, but it sure was fun. The flames licked the ax blade as he hit it, the heat staying trapped in the metal for longer.

Rick's eyes widened as he watched the flames change colors, becoming blue. The teen laughed as he kept hammering away, ignoring the heat as it increased. A knock at the door almost brought him out, but he ignored it. He didn't even flinch as the door opened, shining light on the forge.

"Why does it smell like Rick's still in here?" Ben said as he sniffed the air before he looked at what Rick was doing, "Oh shit…"

"What's he doing now?" Richard groaned as he took a step forward before getting a full view, "You know what? I'm not even going to ask."

The monk turned around and walked away as Ben sighed and closed the door, Rick hadn't noticed as he kept hammering away. The flame tantalizing him as he kept hammering the shape in, his eye widening as he could see the product starting to take shape. He started laughing manically as he got closer and closer, the ax head looking more and more substantial. Soon, the blade looked perfect as he formed the hole for the handle, his smile never leaving his face.

He looked at the huge grindstone near him and, with a face full of glee, grabbed his bucket of shine and dragged it over. He looked at it, slowly pouring it onto the stone before lighting a match and throwing it onto the stone. Rick laughed as it flared up, covering the stone with flame as he started it rolling. He grinned as he put his ax head to the grind, more sparks flying as he did. The beautiful flecks of metal flying off into space were almost mesmerizing as he sharpened the blade, Rick's eyes glowing like a child on Christmas as they did.

After some grinding, Rick got up with the blade in hand. He looked at the thing and walked over to the anvil…he took it into his hand and raised it and brought it down. The metal dug into the thick anvil, sinking deep into the anvil, he picked it up and smiled…yes…yes…he started laughing manically as he did, this would work just fine…

 **A few days later…**

Rick came into the shop carrying a fairly lengthy rough piece of black wood with a smile, his hands shaking in anticipation as he brought it over to the saw piece. He placed it into the cutting deck and started it up, the blade whirling to life as he did. He brought it down slowly, watching as sparks flew as the blade connected with the wood. After a few seconds, Rick stopped as he felt something hitting his skin, the psychopath brought the blade up to reveal…the teeth had been stripped to the bone.

"Crap…" Rick groaned, he forgot…Blackwood was hard to cut, much less carve down. He looked at the wood, only to sigh as he saw that the surface hadn't been scuffed. He looked around, his eyes falling on another saw, this one with a Dust port. He brought the wood over and threw it in, Rick grabbed some fire Dust and placed it into the port and watched as the saw blade glowed red hot.

The psychopath grinned as he brought the blade down, the blade sparking again as he did. He could smell the wood burning as the blade worked…only for him to bring it up again. He stared at the blade…it had lost its teeth, Rick groaned again but as he looked down, he saw the wood had the barest scuff marks. He smiled once again, yes…this would work. He grabbed some more blades and Dust and went to work.

 **A few hours later…**

Rick held his handle up with pride, it wasn't perfect…it was kind of rough but he could improvise. He looked over at the various blades and Dust vials on the ground…yep…that was coming out of his paycheck. The psychopath pulled out his ax head and put it against the wood…only to groan again as the handle was just a little too large. Rick looked down and sighed once more…one more time…with feeling.

 **R**

The figure wore a wielding mask as he brought the hammer up and brought it down, hitting the red hot metal as he did. He kept hitting and hitting, hammering the metal to shape. The metal curved around the horn of the anvil, forming a circular shape. He lifted it up and brought it over to the rest of the metal pieces, all placed in a specific pattern with most of the pieces being of a rust color. The man looked over the shapes before he returned to the forge, pulling out one last piece. This piece had the basic shape of the final design, a thin dagger.

The man brought it over and hit it with his hammer, finalizing the blades shape. He then brought it over the grinder and started it up, gently running the blade over the high speed metal. The blade was about eight inches long, but the man ran every inch of the blade's edges over the grinder. He brought them up to eye level, before placing it with the rest of the parts.

The man removed his mask to reveal…a man with stubble and glasses, he grinned as he looked over the pieces. They were all handcrafted, each forged with his heart. He had to…the man who needed this…he was a warrior, despite everything he claimed. The man looked over at the most important piece of the puzzle…an arm, more specifically, a cybernetic arm that was a sandy color.

He walked over and grabbed the arm, it was a military grade cyber replacement, designed to have a higher tolerance of Dust. The man who ordered it needed it, and needed it fast. A storm was coming and a warrior needed a weapon, so the smith grabbed arm and dragged it over and put it on a stand. The smith grabbed the metal and went to work, attaching the pieces in a certain order.

The arm slowly came together, the metal plating attached nice and snug onto the arm, the red pieces slowly going around the arm and allowing him to beef it up. The smith finished and stood back to look at his handiwork, the arm bared a distinct rusty tinge to it. The man grinned as he slowly added the blade, connecting it to the Dust system. He reached over and grabbed a set of nearby Dust paint, it was time to finish the job.

 **A few hours later…**

The door opened to reveal a man in a rust colored suit and fedora, his face brimming with a mustache. He walked in, his left arm coat swaying in the wind as he did.

"Is it ready?" He asked as he spied the man leaning over his work.

"That it is." The man said as he moved away to reveal the piece, it shined in the light as the man looked at it. The metal was perfectly placed, the weak points covered, and the paint job? Or, plural, jobs? There were multiple paint jobs, all of them were of women. The two most prominent ones were of a scantily clad woman wearing white with red hair pressed against another woman with white hair holding a scythe, both covering each other.

The forearm bared three more women, one wearing a green hood with black hair, the next one wearing a brown shawl with white hair coming out of it, and the final was a woman in a black dress with blonde hair. All were laying in front of a fire in a heap, creating a…sexual scene to say the least.

"Is it to your liking Mr. Xsu?" The smith asked, the monk sighed as he picked it up.

"Did you attach the Dust system?" Richard asked as he slid the arm on.

"Yes…yes I did." The smith replied, watching as Richard grimaced as the arm activated, piercing his flesh to attach the nerves. Richard yelled as his nerves felt like they were on fire as the arm attached, he breathed heavily as they calmed down. He looked at his new arm, opening and closing his fist, feeling the pressure. He looked at his elbow and, with a thought, a blade shot out. He smiled as he turned to the smith.

"Thanks, I'll put it to good use." The monk said as he turned to leave.

"Feel free to modify however you want." The Smith yelled as the monk left.

"Oh…I will…" The monk said as he looked at the artwork.

 **S**

Micca looked at the scales that lay before her, her hands shaking as she picked them and tested their weight. These were made of high quality metal, higher than she had been allowed to work with in the past outside of Beacon. These were the first part of the elaborate puzzle she needed to finish, scale armor…she giggled as she saw the irony, but she quickly silenced it. She needed to finish as much as she could tonight, the gang was going after that Grimm in the morning and leaving the next day.

Micca sighed as she started sliding them one after another, creating more and more layers. Each one required a stable hand, they had to be perfect. Each row had to be just right for the nailing process, the snake groaning as she remembered that part. She carefully removed her hands and grabbed a small hammer and set of nails, she lined them up and… _bam,_ the first one was in, the small sound barely registering as the nails gently pierced the metal.

The second one followed, as did the third, then the fourth. Soon, the nails were driven in completely, the armor slowly took shape. The scales all lined up perfectly, the metal gleamed in the moonlight as she kept at it. The armor had to fit her, not just her body, but her very being. She remembered that…from him, from Dirk. She shook her head that was a name she hadn't thought about in a long time.

Dirk…he had raised her and Wun when their mother died, he was an old faunas. A horse faunas to be exact, unlike other faunas that had the luxury of being able to hide their extra features, his entire lower body showed his heritage. He had horse legs, each with a hoof. She remembered them click clacking on the pavement whenever he walked, the man was an old one. An old member of the White Fang, he wasn't one of the new ones. He often spoke out against the violent action the White Fang took, but still…he had taught Micca and Wun how to fight. She could still hear his old, wizened voice.

"The difference between fighting and defense," He would say when someone would call him a hypocrite, "Is one is done to hurt others, the other is done to protect others."

She remembered how he constantly tried to tell them that…but in the end? They didn't listen, eventually…the poor man was driven out by the other members, by the two of them as well. She didn't know at the time, but she now knew that he was one of the last members of the White Fang who truly believed in piece. He had been there since the beginning, the formation. Hell, he had fought in the Faunas Right's war, or as he called it, the war of fools.

He had lost his taste for battle in that conflict, he hated war after that. However, his voice was silenced when the power shifted, his love of peace drove him out of the very organization he had fought so hard to keep. Micca shook her head as she looked at her own work, she had to focus. The snake faunas stopped as she did though…she had driven those nails in? When? The girl laughed as she remembered something else the man had once said to her.

"Sometimes…you'll do things without realizing them," He said as he leaned back in a chair, "You'll be thinking of something happy and an hour will go by, you'll be thinking of something that makes you angry, you'll swing at the air. This can allow you to do things that you don't realize…sometimes it can be good."

"That's good work," A voice behind her made her jump, she turned around to see the blacksmith from the village entering, "Really good work. Why are you becoming a huntress when you can do something like this?"

"It's…It's just a hobby," Micca said as she rubbed the back of her head, "I've always had a thing for armor."

"A hobby?" The man said with a bark of laughter, "You've got talent kid, seriously, if you ever fail at being a huntress, you should think about becoming a blacksmith."

Micca laughed as the man turned away, sure…if only she could stay rooted down in one place for that long.

 **A**

The man in black looked over the assembled arsenal on the table in front of him, grenades, missiles, ammo for days, a set of twin pistols, and his thin rapier. He looked over at the man in front of him, he nodded as he flipped him a coin. The merchant grabbed it and took off out the nearest door, this was some…difficult merchandise to obtain to say the least. Most of it was still legal, but some of it was suspicious to say the least.

The pistols are what bothered the merchant the most though, the requisition was thorough, down to the smallest details. The weight, the capacity, the Calibur, the barrel length, the recoil, hell…even the grips had specific designations. He was the third merchant to try and give the man what he wanted, the others had failed him.

The money was too good though, this kind of coin was enough to by a whole ship. He didn't want to know how the man in black acquired such a rare item but he sure didn't to ask. The merchant shivered as he walked, barely hearing the soft guitar behind him as the man in black started to play.

 **Quick FYI for the after chapter, MNF will take a bit longer than I thought to start. The current season of RWBY is going in a direction that makes it a bit harder to write, but expect it to start being updated sometime soon. Remember, re-read the last chapter if you haven't already. It's imperative to the story.**


	15. Last bit of Pink

Mercury and Emerald watched in horror as the Beowulf slowly crawled out of the blood red ooze, their faces showing true fear as they watched it come out with its eyes full of a deep hatred for mankind. They felt a hand on their shoulders, the two turned around to see a man completely clothed in black, a wide brimmed hat covered his face and bloody bandages covered his face. His one visible eye was a bright blue and his hands were covered in those same bandages.

He gestured to the table behind them, the group of people ignoring them as approached. They went behind Cinder, the once strong woman bearing the scars of her encounter with Ruby. The pair walked to her sides while the third walked to the table, not sitting but eyeing the rest of the group. His gaze made everyone feel just a bit uncomfterble, even Tyrian looked away when his gaze fell upon him, they knew what he could do, his gaze seeing all of their sins.

"Yes, yes, please keep your…posse in check," A man with a mustache said, Emerald grabbing Mercury to prevent him from trying to decorate the back windows with his brain, "You hear that? Silence, I have half the mind to thank the little girl who bested you."

"If I were you, I'd hunt her down," Tyrian said, the man grinning, "And…she took your eye didn't she?"

Cinder grimaced as the crazed man started laughing, she turned away with look at the mustached man. She took a breath and, a ragged sound came out, Emerald quickly ran over to assist.

"Pathetic, why did you even…" The man said only to be cut off by the sound of the door opening, Salem entering the room with grace. All stood up as she passed, each paying their respects. Her form floated past them as she went to the end of the room.

"What?" She asked, the mustached man eye's widened, "Do you find such malignance necessary?"

Salem held out her hand and the room all sat.

"I'm sorry ma'me," The man replied, "I'm not particularly fond of failure."

"Then I see no reason for your cruelty towards young Cinder," Salem said with a patronizing tone, "She's become our Fall Maiden, destroyed Beacon, and most importantly, killed dear Ozpin. So, I'm curious, to what failures are you referring?"

"Well…the girl with the silver eyes." The mustached man responded.

"Yes, we've dealt with her kind before," A huge man with a goatee responded, "How is a novice was able to best one of us?"

"I agree, even without her power, it should have been effortless." The mustached man replied.

"It's because of the Maidens power," Salem replied, "Make no mistake Cinder, you hold the key to our victory, but your newfound strength brings with it a crippling weakness. Which is why you will remain by my side as you receive treatment."

Salem started sending out orders, the man ignored them until Cinder started talking.

"She wants to know…what about the girl?" Emerald translated, only to get a scoff from the mustached man known as Watts.

"It seems to me like its Cinders problem." The man responded, Salem sighed as she turned to the man in black.

"Brule, would you educate Mr. Watts on why you are here?" Salem ordered, Mr. Watts opened his mouth to say something, before he felt a hand on his throat. A sharp point at his chest, his eyes bulged out as he looked at the man holding him. The man had produced a katar from somewhere on his person and his eye was filled with murderous intent.

"That's enough Brule," Salem said as she turned to Tyrian, "Tyrian, Spring can wait…find the girl who did this to Salem."

Brule watched as the group got up to go to their respective destinations, his eyes shifting to Salem as Cinder walked out.

"Brule, you will stay here and protect Cinder in case something happens." Salem ordered with a smile, the man bowed and walked out. The smell burned meat had just reached Salem at that point, she smiled at it. He was by far one of her most dangerous fighters…

 **In Mistral…**

Micca looked through the scope of her rifle as she rested along the tree, her scale mail shifting as she adjusted herself. Her weapon's blades acted as a bipod as she looked out. The sounds of the rest of team RNJR coming up, the conversation making the snake giggle.

"Are you good?" Nora said over her scroll.

"Yeah, I've got a visual on the clearing," Micca whispered back, "When Ruby comes around, I've got a clear shot. Also, RNJR is a much better name, especially considering it also can contain R and S."

The sounds of protest were quickly shut off by the sound of pounding footsteps, Micca righted herself.

"Do you think we need to be worried about any Grimm?" Ren said over the scroll.

"Not as long as Rick does his job." Micca said back with a grin as the Geist burst into the clearing.

 **Meanwhile…**

The Grimm heard the sound of combat, the idea of fresh meat hung in their minds as they pressed forward into a clearing. They stopped however, as they saw a lone human in their way. He was wearing black armor and holding an ax, a chainsaw and shotgun hung near him as well as a mask. His hair was brown and his face bore an untrimmed beard, the teen slowly turned to them but, rather than fear, his face lit up with excitement.

"So…do you want to handle this or do you want me to handle this?" The teen asked, his voice carrying into nothing but air.

"Nah, you got this." He answered back, his voice suddenly changing to a deeper and hungrier one.

"OK, let's dance." The teen said as he pulled out his ax and counted the Grimm, about four Beowolves and two Ursa. Nothing too difficult to him at this point, considering his lifestyle at this point.

 **Insert "Rise," Sixx AM…**

The Beowolves roared as they charged forward, Rick merely dodged out of the way of their strikes, whirling around and slashing at one of the beast legs. The creature fell to the ground as Rick growled as he rolled to his feet and kicked one of the beast coming at him, his foot snapping the wolf's head back. The psychopath growled as he swung his ax across the creature's belly, pulling out whatever the creature's equivalent of intestines was.

He smiled at the smell of it before turning around and slamming his ax into another of the creature's heads, right before being hit by one of the Ursa that had joined the fray. The teen was sent flying into a tree, the trunk snapping as he landed. The teen got to his feet, cracking his shoulders as he did. Rick smiled again, this was the most fun he had had in a while. The Ursa charged him and Rick charged right back, he leaped into the air, slamming his shoulder into the creature's chest.

The creature stumbled back as Rick grabbed its head and whirled around onto its back, the creature snarled and snapped as he did before trying to buck him off. He merely grinned as he held on, pulling out his ax and slamming it down as hard as he could. The creature roared in frustration as it suddenly twisted and threw him off, the teen landing in a heap on the ground.

"You know," Rick growled in his deeper voice, "You could just use the chainsaw or shotgun and deal with these assholes."

"I don't want to create too much noise," Rick replied to himself, dodging a swing from the Ursa.

"Oh, we're gonna create more noise that the rest of the team fighting a Geist?" The deeper voice growled.

"Butcher…for once, you've got a point." Rick sighed as he ducked under another swing, slashing at the creatures arm, lopping it off. He followed up by, once again leaping onto the creatures back, this time, however, he merely slammed his ax into the creature's skull. The creature growled as it fell, Rick rolling off and too his feet. He looked up to see two of the remaining Beowolves lurching off, ignoring him.

"Am I being ignored?" Rick growled as he looked back at his two other tools of destruction. He ran and scooped up his shotgun and lined up a shot and pulled the trigger, a huge boom could be heard from all around. The two Beowolves were launched forward, evaporating as they went. Rick looked at his gun.

"Goddamn it," He growled, "I had the explosive shot in didn't I? Don't have too many of…"

Rick was cut off as the remaining Ursa slashed at his chest, the armor holding together but still bringing the teen to his knees. The creature roared as it raised its claws, only to roar in pain and confusion as it felt a hard metallic blade shoved into its stomach. It looked down to see Rick grinning with his chainsaw firmly embedded into the creatures stomach, he grinned even wider as he ripped the cord, the teeth roaring to life as he slowly lifted it up.

The creature roared in pain as Rick sawed it in half, the two slices still connected at the legs. Rick smiled as he got up, only to turn to the last remaining Beowolf. He smiled as it snarled at charged, the psychopath dropped his chainsaw and pulled out his ax. The creature still came as it saw the weapon gleaming in the sunlight, only for Rick to throw the damn thing into its head.

"That could have gone better," The Butcher said, "Next time, let's just start with the chainsaw."

"Oh, shut up, let's go back to check with the guys." Rick said with a grin as he walked back.

 **A few hours later…**

Ruby shook hands with the village elder, a tall man with grey hair and red robes.

"We truly can't thank you enough." The man said with a smile.

"That Geist had been plaguing our village for weeks, we were afraid we would have to move." The man said with relief.

"We're just doing our job," Ruby replied, "You could always just come along with us if you don't feel safe."

"I take it that you're not from these parts," The man said with a laugh, "Most of my people would not survive, it might be safer in the kingdoms but we prefer our way of life. I just wish we could pay you more."

"Our previous arrangement is more than sufficient." Ren said with a grin as the gang all bowed.

"But if you could give me a free bottle of whiskey I wouldn't object…" Rick said, earning a hit on the back of the head from Micca. The gang all started walking towards the blacksmith shop, ready to get their pay.

Rick hung in back as they concluded their business, ignoring the conversation until Ruby's laughter brought him out. He took his eyes up to see the source of her laughter, Jaune's hoody.

"It's got a cute little bunny on it!" Ruby laughed out.

"It's pumpkin Pete!" Jaune yelled in embarrassment.

"What did you do? Send in box tops?" Ruby yelled out with laughter.

"Yeah…fifty." Jaune said in an embarrassed tone. Ruby fell to the ground with laughter, Rick looked up at Jaune with a small smile.

"Jaune…it looks good on you," Micca said with a sad smile, knowing full well the reason for him wearing it, "Keep it on."

"Can't be a hunter without a weapon," The man said as he slammed the shield into the wooden, "Made all the modifications you wanted, the metal compliments the white nicely. Where'd you find it?"

"From a friend…" Jaune answered as he reached over and grabbed the shield.

"All right, everyone out!" Rick yelled, "Got to let Jaune change!"

The rest of the gang laughed at the outburst and started to file out.

"Hey, you the one with the mask," The blacksmith yelled as Rick started to leave, the psychopath had forgotten the mask on his pack but as he turned, he barely managed to catch something. He looked at it, it was a massive Bowie knife, with about 14 inches of blade, "I saw that you had one that was looking pretty rough, thought you could make use of it."

"I…I can't accept this," Rick said as he looked over the blade, it was of amazing quality. The blade was clearly old as well, bearing a symbol on it that Rick didn't recognize.

"It belonged to my great grandfather," The blacksmith said, "He got it after the Great War and used it to try and carve out an existence in the wild. I don't have a need of it, but I'd think he'd be happy if you were to use it."

"Are you sure?" The psychopath asked.

"Definite, just be sure to kill some Grimm with it." The man said with a laugh as he shooed Rick away.

 **A few minutes later…**

RRNJRS started walking out of the village with smile in their steps.

"I've got the map!" Rick said as Jaune started to panic.

"Hey, don't take all the credit!" The Butcher yelled.

"You didn't do anything! In fact, you almost ruined it when you let yourself get stabbed by that mugger!" Rick yelled back.

"He was trying to take our bottle of vodka! What was I supposed to do?" The Butcher yelled again, only to be stopped by the sounds of giggling. Rick turned to look at Ruby and the gang.

"You're doing it again." Ruby giggled out.

"Sorry…" Both Rick and the Butcher said, their voices switching in between.

 **Meanwhile…in Atlas…**

"Why hello Mr. Whitley," The fox faunas said as he leaned on his cane in his right hand, "How are thing going today?"

"Quite well, and you Mr. Alex?" The youngest Schnee child responded as he looked at the teen in front of him.

"Just fine, just got done giving my newest Dust specs to your fathers financial advisors, I came this way to see if Weiss was willing to listen to my tales of woe." Alex said with a grin.

"I'm afraid she's visiting with our father." Whitely said with a smile.

"I'll wait," Alex said as he looked at his watch, "I'm sorry, but I believe Klein said that you had some engagement with some girl from town? Don't want you to be late."

"Ah yes, thanks for reminding me. I'll see you later then." The young boy said as he walked away, knowing full well what Alex meant by that threat.

"Little shit," Alex muttered under his breath, "But he pays the bills."

The teen walked towards the study, stopping as he saw General Ironwood exiting. The man stopped and looked at the teen with a bit of shock, before he smiled.

"Mr. Brecken, I didn't expect to see you here." The general said as he held out his hand, which Alex took.

"Same to you, how are you doing these days?" The faunas said.

"As well as to be expected," Ironwood sighed as he looked over the teen, "My subordinate tells me you've been causing her a lot of trouble."

"Julia? Yeah, that girl has a serious problem with control," Alex said with a sigh, "I'll tell you what I told her, she needs to make an appointment with Jackie, then I'll actually be able to see her. I'm a busy man, Ironwood, I can't just take off work to talk to her."

"I understand, but…Alex, if I might ask," Ironwood said as he started walking away, "We both know that you have far more powerful Dust than you're giving the Schnee's…why aren't you giving it to us?"

"Ironwood," Alex sighed, "I need to feel this situation out a bit more, and with war on the horizon…I don't know if I can trust Atlas or the Schnee's, especially the Schnee's mind you, with my designs. In the wrong hands…it could destroy hundreds of lives."

"I can understand you're reservations after Beacon, we played right into their hands, but I assure you, I only care about the safety of the kingdoms." Ironwood said as he walked away, leaving Alex to his lonesome.

"Alex, coffee?" Klein's voice shocked the teen out of his thoughts.

"Thanks," Alex said as he took a seat, only for the door to open to reveal Weiss. She and Klein talked for a bit before she turned to Alex.

"Alex," She said with relief, "How are you today?"

"Great, especially now that I've gotten his coffee, he is one hell of a butler." The faunas said, right before his phone went off, "Give me a sec."

He pulled out his scroll and groaned at the name.

"Maria…yeah…yeah I know she's pissed, look…tell her to make an appointment. OK…OK, tell her to meet me later this evening, I'll be there. Also, if she brings her robots again I might actually kill her." Alex closed his scroll before turning to Weiss.

"So…still need some relationship advice?" The fox laughed out, "Especially regarding a certain red head?"


	16. Bandits, Ships, and Cigars

"Personally, I think I'm more of a warrior's wolf tail kind of guy." Jaune said as the group walked along the road, they had been traveling for a few days now and were fairly close to the next village.

"That's just a ponytail." Ruby said with a bit of a giggle.

"I stand by what I said." Jaune replied, earning a laugh from Rick.

"Hey, don't bash on it, I knew a guy who had one of those, one of the craziest bastards I knew…I wonder what happened to him," Rick said with a laugh, "But, let's face it, beards are where it's…at…oh shit."

Jaune and Ruby looked up to see the burned husk of the village, the pair's eyes widening as they saw it.

"Oh no." Micca gasped as the group took off running. They entered the village, each one looking around desperately.

"This is bad, very bad…" Rick muttered as he pulled out his ax.

"Look for survivors!" Ruby yelled as the group started to fan out.

"Over here!" Ren yelled out, getting the rest of the gang's attention. They all ran over to a huntsmen holding his side.

"Hold still," Micca yelled as she ran over, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"What happened, what killed all these people?" Jaune asked, his tone distressed.

"…Bandits…A whole tribe…and, with all the panic…" The man gasped out.

"The Grimm." Ren finished for him, Rick suddenly got to his feet and looked around. His eye's wild with anticipation and anger, Micca leaned over the guy to get an idea of his wound. The rest of RANJRS all started to talk about how to help him, only for Ren to break them out of their thoughts.

"Guys…" He said as he looked at the now dead body, Micca slowly got to her feet.

"Should we bury him?" Nora asked suddenly.

"We should go, it's not safe here." Ren said quietly as he walked past the group.

"Ren…" Nora said as she turned around to face him.

"Micca…" Rick said as he approached her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"If we had just been a bit earlier…if we had been just a bit faster…" Micca said, holding back tears.

"Hey…look at me…" The psychopath said, gently turning her, "We can't change anything by staying here, we've got to go. What if the bandits come back? What would they do to us?"

"You mean…what would they do to Ruby, Nora, and I?" Micca said as she grabbed his hand.

"Yeah…I do, look…right now, I'm doing all I can to not go off and try and murder any bandit I see," Rick said as he looked back towards the rest of the group, "But we agreed when we started that we need to look out for each other, we can't put them at risk."

"I know it's just…damn it, why did this all have to happen?" Micca whispered as she grabbed Rick and buried her face into his chest.

"I don't know…but trust me," Rick said as he pulled her face out of his chest, "We're still here, we're not done yet."

 **A few hours later…**

Ruby started to sneak her way back, holding back tears as she did.

"He at it again?" Micca's voice made the younger girl jump, she looked to see Micca on a branch, keeping an eye on the event.

"Wait, you knew?" Ruby whispered as she climbed up to sit down next to her snake friend.

"Rick saw it when we started traveling, mentioned it to me, we've been taking turns to make sure he doesn't hurt himself," Micca whispered back as she lifted something to her mouth, Ruby's eye's widened as she realized it was a bottle of liquor, "Rick lifted it from the Geist village, I took it so he wouldn't get too wasted."

"How is he doing? I know that he was pretty upset at the beginning of all this, I heard him moaning in his sleep." Ruby asked, earning a nod from Micca.

"He's doing better, losing ROSA and Pyrrha was a lot to take in," Micca muttered as she took another sip, "They were like his family."

"Micca…I know I probably shouldn't be asking this, but…why doesn't Rick talk about his family?" The young girl asked, earning a nod from Micca.

"Because…well…it's complicated," Micca said as she leaned back, "Remember what he said about his shotgun?"

"It was a gift from his older sister Fang as a…goodbye gift, yeah…I remember, though I never got what it would be that." Ruby answered, making Micca look down at the ground.

"Ruby….I mentioned this to everyone else but not you because I was afraid of how you would react…" Micca sighed, "Rick…Rick was disowned."

"What?!" Ruby yelped out, before Micca shushed her, "How can that happen?"

"Look…the area where Rick comes from things are…complicated," Micca said as she rubbed the back of her head, "He grew up in a town called Tradition, you wouldn't know this, but in that area, family is everything. It's kind of like the old clans of years ago, the point is, killing a member of your family is one of the worst things imaginable."

"And he…killed, Mary right?" Ruby asked, her voice dark and small.

"Yes, he's a kin killer now," Micca sighed as she turned away, "As much as she wanted to fight it, his older sister couldn't stop the decision to disown him. Also, you saw how he and Mary treated each other, that's why he's so adamant on following you. You're like a little sister to him, one that actually cares about him."

"Is that why he beat that guy up for looking up my skirt?" Ruby said with a bit of a laugh.

"OK, all of us were going to beat him up for that," Micca said with a laugh, "But in all seriousness, he really does care for all of us. We're the last bit of family that he feels like they still care for him."

"Micca? Why are you here?" Ruby asked, earning strange look from the snake faunas.

"Why wouldn't I be here? With Wun safe, I've got to protect my other little sister." Micca said as she grabbed Ruby and pulled her in for a noogie.

"Stop it, stop it!" Ruby giggled out before Micca let her go.

"Go back to bed little rose," The snake said as she kissed the smaller girls forehead. Ruby smiled as she jumped down and sneaked back towards the camp. Micca smiled from the tree, yeah…little sister…that sounded about right.

 **On a boat…**

Blake looked back over the ocean as the captain left, the soft sounds of the waves crashing soothing her soul. The sound of a soft guitar filled the air, the faunas looked around to see a man holding a guitar nearby. His hat was down over his head, covering his features. Blake couldn't help but feel like she knew him, but when he looked up…she didn't recognize his eyes or his goatee. The man smiled and waved before she looked away, maybe the captain was right…she was getting paranoid.

 **Meanwhile, in Patch…**

"Hey Yang, how are you doing today?" Richard said as he entered the house, carrying some groceries.

"Guess what came in today?" Tai said as he entered behind the teen, Yang turned around to see the pair.

"What?" The blonde asked, earning a smile from Richard.

"I can't wait for you to try this…" Tai said as he entered the kitchen, Richard stayed behind and sat down next to Yang. She couldn't help but look at him, he had changed his robes for a rust colored leisure suit but his mustache remained glorious as ever. Her eyes fell to his left arm, which was covered in cloth. She opened her mouth to speak, only to be interrupted by her father entering and setting down a package.

"Well?" Tai asked, earning a look from Yang.

"It's for me?" The blonde girl asked.

"You and you only," Tai replied, Yang opened the box to reveal…an arm, "State of the art, Atlas tech. You know, I thought I was going to have to pull some strings, but you earned this one all on your own."

"Huh?" Yang asked, her face confused.

"Before I said anything, Ironwood had some of his top men working on it," Tai said with a smile, "He wanted me to tell you that you fought admirably."

"Want me to help?" Richard asked, his eyes down as he figured the answer out already.

"I…uh…I'm not feeling to great right now," Yang said, "Maybe later?"

"Well…alright…" Tai said as he scratched his head, the buxom blond got to her feet and started up the stairs.

"Yang," Richard's voice stopped her, the monk looked at her, "Take your time."

A few minutes later and Yang was doing her chores, sweeping the upper deck.

"Got a light?" Richard asked as he walked out, Yang looked up to see the monk with a cigar in his lips, "Figured you didn't."

"You smoke now?" Yang asked, her eyes narrowing.

"Yep," Richard replied as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a match, "I do a lot of stuff I didn't used to do."

"Richard…why are you here?" Yang asked, prompting Richard to sigh as he turned.

"Got nowhere else to go," Richard answered as he leaned over the railing, "Rick and Micca are gone, Ben disappeared without a trace, your father was kind enough to loan me the cabin near for the winter as long as I made myself useful."

"Oh…" Yang said as she walked past him, Richard moved out of her way. He sighed as he heard her walk down the stairs.

"Yep…Don't have anywhere to go, The monk muttered as he watched Yang go outside to get her mail, he took a few more drags of his smoke before snuffing it out. He watched Yang come in and decided to maybe take his leave, but as he walked down the stairs…he heard the sound of glass shatter and a yelp from Yang. The monk quickly ran down the stairs, "Yang!"

Her eyes snapped towards the monk, who held up his hand.

 _Yeah…because someone needs to help you_ The Monk thought to himself.

 **Back to the ship…**

The man in black looked over Blake as Sun jumped off of her back, laughing like a madman as he sat and summoned his clones.

"Sun!" Blake yelled as she watched the monkey faunas grab onto the creatures head, "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, you know," Sun yelled as he held on for dear life, "Just hanging around."

Blake groaned as she jumped off the railing, using her rope to swing herself around to catch Sun as he flew off the beast.

"My hero." Sun said as Blake carried him bridal style, the faunas putting a hand over his chest.

"You're not supposed to be here!" Blake yelled, her eyes widening in anger.

"Well…it looks like you could use all the help you could get!" Sun retorted, only to get an annoyed look from Blake.

"Ugh…shut up and fight." She groaned as she dropped him, before running up to fight the creature. The creature fired a blast of energy at the boat, only for something to block it. Blake and Sun's eyes snapped to the mysterious man in black who grabbed his hat out of the sky, he smiled as he pointed a finger gun at the creature. Blake and Sun nodded as they jumped towards the Grimm, using each other as spring boards.

Blake ended up the highest, and came crashing down, trying to dodge various lightning blast, only for the hat to come in and block the various blasts. She came crashing down, only for Sun to catch her.

"This is the part where you say…" Sun started, only to get a scoff from Blake. That's when the rocks they were standing on started collapsing.

"Captain…" The man in black stated with a Spanish accent, "I believe the term is full speed ahead."

The old sea dog nodded as he raced forward, both Blake and Sun kept moving, dodging various swings…until they ended up hanging from Blake's ribbon. It breathed in…only for the ship to come in and ram it, its cannon firing and blowing the damn things head off. The man in black breathed a sigh of relief as he heard a loud smack, he turned to see Sun rubbing his cheek.

 **A few hours later…**

"You're going on a one woman rampage against the White Fang." Sun yelled out, getting a nod from the man in black.

"What?" Blake replied, her voice filled with annoyance.

"You've always felt like the White Fang were your fight, they come in and trash your school, hurt your friends, it makes perfect sense." Sun finished.

"He wanted to keep you safe." The man in black said, earning a groan from Blake.

"You're wrong, Sun…you're so, so wrong." Blake responded.

"What?" Sun asked.

"I'm not going anywhere near the White Fang." She said, grabbing her arm in embarrassment.

"Seriously?" Sun asked, the man in black's eyes also widened in surprise.

"I need to work some things out." The cat responded.

"Then why not do it with your team, your friends?" Sun asked, earning a glare from Blake.

"What about you?" Blake asked, "Unless you got Neptune, Scarlet, and Sage hiding below deck."

"Are you kidding? Getting Neptune on a boat?" Sun laughed out, "If you're not going after the White Fang, then where are you going?"

"Home…to Menagerie." Blake answered.

"Wait, you're from that place?" The man in black asked.

"Ok," Blake said as she stopped and looked at him, "Who are you? How do you know me?"

"Well…it is a long story…" The man said as he reached up and pulled off his hat, making Blake's eyes widen.

"Ben?" She asked as she looked over the man.

"My name is not Ben…it's complicated, _mi amigo,"_

"How?" Blake asked, her suspicion growing.

"Well…you see…" The man started his tale, ready to finally tell someone close his tale.

 _Insert Flashback…_

 _I was born Azul de le Vega to a noble house in Atlas, my family was well off and I was known as the life of the party. However, my family had enemies in the noble district, ones who would rather see our fortune destroyed and our name ruined than to even look at us. One day, an assassin killed a girl I was seeing, they pinned the crime on me and I spent around three years in prison. There, I met a faunas, and former member of the White Fang, by the name of Lucius Severus who was my cell mate. He told me of the original White Fang's purpose and how it had fallen, and how injustice reigned supreme wherever he looked._

 _He told me his various apprentices who he trained and, after listening to my story, decided to train me. Throughout our sessions though, he could never escape the idea that his death was near. One day, when I was separated from him, he was shanked in the bathroom. I found him as he bled out, I held his hand as he told me his last wishes, and I cut his throat to end his suffering. Shortly after that, I was released, they had discovered evidence that I was innocent._

 _After that, I took up the mantle of Zorro, a masked man who could bring the nobility to justice. However, doing this earned me even more enemies, including some who had the pockets to hire the assassin's guild. They sent their best assassin, a man named Cruril, after me. He almost succeeded, had it not been for a man by the name of Jinn, another assassin from another guild. He saved me and brought me to his base of operations, Tradition, there I met Ben. Ben was like a little brother to me, a smart kid, always bright._

 _However, Cruril caught up with me and attempted to kill me in an accident, Jinn, however, had other plans. The bastard had dealt with the occult for many years and had discovered forbidden magic's, including how to transfer a soul. He transferred my soul into Ben's body, and vice versa. Ben died in my body as I was pulled out, I…didn't know what to do, and so after long months of recovery, I convinced myself that I WAS Ben. That Azul had died in the fire…but I now know the truth. I couldn't believe it, I wanted so desperately to not believe…until a woman came to me._

 _She reeked of blood, but she helped me. She convinced me to keep going, to honor Ben and Lucius's memory, and now I am here._

 **In the Grimm dimension…**

Brule took out his blades as the strange Grimm passed, putting himself in between Emerald and Mercury as the thing passed by. The man in the bandages growled as it passed, he was not letting that anywhere near these two…


	17. Old and New Wounds

Yang awoke to the sound of laughter, she looked over at the clock…goddamn it was late. The blonde got to her feet, walking towards the noise. The stairs creaked slightly as she walked down them, the sounds getting even louder. She peered through the doorway to see the familiar, if not unexpected, faces of Oobleck and Port sitting around a table with Richard and Tai sitting on the counter.

"In come's Qrow wearing a skirt," Port yelled out, "I was just a DA, I didn't know what to do. So I just left the room to laugh."

The group burst out laughing as Yang slowly walked in.

"We told him it was a kilt, he had never worn a uniform before!" Tai laughed out.

"That is terrible, shame on you!" Oobleck laughed out.

"Hey, all the girls said he had great legs!" Tai responded, "Then Aedan walked, asked what the hell was going on, before saying that 'lad…you've got good legs, but please…keep em to yourself!"

The rest of the gang laughed as Port suddenly slammed his foot into the table.

"Like what you see?" He exclaimed, forcing more laughter from the group, "I remember Aedan bursting out laughing before he…"

The big man didn't have a chance to finish as he lost his balance and fell, the rest of the group started laughing, right before Port joined in. A giggle was heard and the group's eyes snapped to Yang, who was covering her mouth.

"Oh, Ms. Xiao Long, please," Port stammered out, "Join us."

"Yes, yes," Oobleck laughed out, "Pull up a chair."

Yang walked across the kitchen and sat on the counter, a smile on her face.

"I'm good," She said before turning to the two professors, "So…what are you doing here?"

"Despite popular belief, teacher still have lives outside of teaching." Oobleck said with a grin.

"Professor Goodwitch is working round the clock to restore Beacon to its former glory, but Mistral wasn't built in a day." Port replied as he sat back down.

"You can say that again," Richard said as he moved to the other side of the room, "More like a generation."

"So, let's not worry about that right now," Tai said as he got back to his story, "So…there we were, standing in the auditorium, looking at Qrow, wearing a skirt, and Ozpin tells everyone…it's time to work on our landing strategy."

"The Branwen twins have always been…interesting to say the least." Oobleck said with a grin.

"That didn't seem to stop Tai…" Port said with a grin and a laugh.

"Come on man," Tai said with a look at his daughter, "She's right here."

"She's a mature woman," Port exclaimed in response, "If she can handle combat, she can handle a few jab at her old man."

"That's not the issue Pete," Tai said as he leaned off the counter, "Besides, she still a teenager."

"She is in the room," Yang said with annoyance as she leaned off the counter as well, "And can be directly spoken too, and I think I've been through enough to be considered an adult."

"Oh boy." Richard muttered under his breath as he took a drink from a nearby glass.

"Adult or not, you've got a long way to go before you're ready for the real world." Tai responded, crossing his arms.

"Oh my god," Yang groaned, "Does every father figure just have the same three condescending phrases."

"Yeah," Tai yelled back, "But we only use them when we mean it!"

"Oh yeah?" Yang asked, her voice rising as well.

"And if you think you're ready to go out on your own," Tai said before pointing to his head, "Then I guess you lost some brain cells along with your arm."

Richard choked on his drink, Oobleck dropped his glass, and Port's hands hit the table in shock. A pin could be heard as the pair stared each other down.

"You jerk!" Yang laughed out as she playfully punched her father's shoulder, the pair bursting out into laughter.

"Are we finally talking about the glaive in the room?" Oobleck whispered, only to get another laugh from the pair. The rest of the group followed along, before Port cleared his throat.

"Ms. Xiao…Yang," The teacher said, "If you don't mind me asking, why haven't you tried the new arm?"

"Ah yes, Atlas technology being given out like that is rare indeed," Oobleck added, "Plus the air fare to get it here."

Yang looked at her stump.

"I'm…scared," The blonde said as she closed her eyes, "Everyone keeps talking about me getting back to normal, and I appreciate it, but…this is normal now. It's just taking me a while to get used to it."

"Well…" Tai said in a calm tone, "Normal is what you make of it."

"What? Do you want me to pretend that nothing happened? I lost a part of me, a piece of me is gone, and it's never coming back."

"You're right," Tai said, "IT's not coming back but it doesn't stop you from being who you want to be. You're Yang Xiao Long, my little sun dragon, so whenever you're ready to stop moping around and get back out there, I'll be there for you."

"As will I," Richard chimed as he held up his left arm, "You're gonna need someone to help you get used to it when you do."

"Uh…I…" Yang stammered.

"Fear is like any other emotion, it comes and goes," Port chimed in, "Why…even I find myself wrestling with it from myself from time to time."

"Really? You?" Yang said with a smile.

"He's afraid of mice!" Oobleck whispered.

"They bring only disease and famine!" Port yelled, slamming his fist into the table. Yang started laughing again, only to turn around and walk up the stairs. Richard looked up…taking a deep breath and walking up after her, he stood in the doorway as Yang listened in on the conversation.

"I've got to…look after some things." Richard heard Tai say, before he sighed loudly, making Yang jump.

"Richard…what are you doing sneaking into my room like this?" Yang said with a smile, only to get a laugh from the monk.

"Nothing like that, I assure you," Richard responded with as he walked to a nearby chair, "But…I think you wanted to ask me a few questions."

Yang's eye's narrowed, before she remembered that she did have a few questions for the monk.

"Well…I do have a few about…well…" The blonde began, only for the monk to cut her off.

"My arm? Ask away." Richard said as he leaned back.

"Why…why did you get a new one so soon?" She asked, earning a look from the monk, "I mean…it seemed like you got a new one very quickly."

She stopped as the monk started laughing.

"Sorry," Richard stammered out, "It's quite simple, because some task are easier with two hands."

"Wait…so it had nothing to do with getting back into the fight?" Yang asked.

"Yang…" The monk sighed, "I…I actually can't decide that."

Yang gave him a strange look.

"The thing is…" Richard continued, "I spent so much time focusing on my hatred of Maul that I forgot what it mean to be a monk of my order, a man of peace, I got the arm so I could work easier but…no matter what…I feel like fighting is always going to get back to me."

"So…what? Do you intend not fight or?" The brawler asked, getting another awkward laugh from the monk.

"I said to myself at first, 'I'll never fight again,' then I got this arm," Richard said as he held up his arm, "The man who made it for me did good work, but he also added something that I didn't request."

"What?" Yang asked, Richard smiled as a blade suddenly shot out of his elbow, making her jump.

"A single blade…" The monk responded, "I thought to myself how I should take it back, I was going to be a man of peace, not war…but, I couldn't. You see…I had forgotten what my masters intended to be my fate. They always intended for me to leave, for me to spread their words across the world. That's why this arm is on me, I take pride in this arm, for it will allow me to protect the people who need it."

"So…why do you keep it covered then?" Yang asked, earning another chuckle from the man.

"Because of this," Richard said as he pulled a cord, releasing the cloth to reveal the design. Yang started bursting out laughing, "I know right?"

 **In the Mistral forest…**

"No camping in the rain!" Nora said with a grin.

"As long as they got some booze!" Rick yelled.

"I really expected to see more Grimm." Jaune muttered out loud.

"As did I." Ren said as he looked around.

"Looks like out luck might finally be changing." Ruby yelled, her voice carrying up the cliffs to a random Grimm, who was promptly stabbed by a huge blade.

"Luck." Qrow muttered as he hoisted up his blade, only for another Beowolf to leap at him.

"Qrow!" An Irish voice rang out, a blade slicing the beast in twain, "Keep an eye on your corners laddie!"

"Thanks Aedan," The hunter said, "Let's get going."

"Aye, I'm running low on my stock, you?" The bartender asked as he pulled out a flask from his pockets, next to his two katanas.

"Yeah…guess you're right." Qrow replied back as the pair gathered their things.

 **A few hours later…**

Qrow and Aedan watched the group of teens from their seats at the bar, both just happy they were OK. A serving girl walked over and placed two glasses near the pair, both eye's leaned up to hers.

"I didn't order…" Qrow started before the woman interrupted him.

"From the woman upstairs," The server said, "Red eye's, said you wouldn't mind bottom shelf."

"Thanks." The younger man said, his eyes going to the table.

"But…I went ahead and gave you top," The woman said with a wink, "Lucky you."

Qrow smiled as the woman walked past, only to get whacked upside the head by Aedan.

"Lad, as much as I would like to comment on your whoring habits," The Irishman said, "How about we focus on the bitch who's most likely upstairs?"

"We don't know it's…" Qrow started before getting a stare from Aedan, "Yeah…it probably is."

The pair walked upstairs, only to see the red eyed woman. She smiled as she saw them.

"Hello brother, Aedan." She said.

"Raven," Qrow replied as Aedan growled as the pair pulled up a chair, "So…what do you want?"

"A girl just can't catch up with her family." Raven asked, holding her hands up.

"They can…but you're not her for that, are you lass?" Aedan responded, his hands gripping his blade.

"Talk, unless you intend on keeping these coming." Qrow said as he set down his drink.

"Does she have it?" Raven asked in a low tone.

"Did you know Yang lost her arm?" Qrow asked after a long silence.

"That's not…" Raven started before the man cut her off.

"Rhetorical question," Qrow growled, "I know you know, it's just obnoxious that you'd bring up family and carry on like your own daughter doesn't exist."

"I saved her." The woman said defensively.

"Yeah? And what about all those other times?" Aedan growled, "One time savings? She's your daughter."

Qrow reached for his glass, only for Raven to grab his arm.

"I told you Beacon would fall and it did," Raven replied, "I told you Ozpin would fail, and he has. You tell me, does…Salam…have it?"

"I thought you weren't interested in all that?" Qrow replied sarcastically.

"I just want to know what we are up against." The woman growled back.

"Which we are we talking about?" Aedan replied, "Your family of raiding psychopaths?"

"You should come back, Raven," Qrow said, ignoring the raging Irishman, "The only way we beat her is by working together."

"You're the one who left," Raven replied back, "The tribe raised us, and you turned your back on them."

"They were killers and thieves." The man responded.

"They were your family…" Raven started.

"You've got a funny definition of that word," Aedan growled as he reached for his blade, "Considering that you're currently in second for bitch of the year in my book."

"I feed our people now," Raven yelled as she got up, "I ensure our survival."

"We saw," Qrow responded, "The people of Xion saw as well."

"The weak die," Raven said as her eyes turned to Aedan's twitching hands, "The strong survive."

"You clearly have some backup," Aedan responded as he slowly got to his feet, "The damage was clear."

"We didn't anticipate the Grimm." Raven said as she crossed her arms.

"We're not talking about the Grimm," Qrow said as he looked at the pair, "I'm not talking about you either."

"If you don't know where the relic is," Raven said as she picked up her mask, "We don't have anything to talk about."

"I don't know where the spring maiden is," Qrow said as he grabbed her mask as well, "But if you do, then I need you to tell me."

"And why would I do that?" The woman said as she pulled her mask away.

"Because without her, we're all going to die." Qrow answered, only earning a chuckle from Raven.

"And which we are we referring too?" The woman said as she turned to leave, only for Aedan to grab her shoulder.

"Just remember what happened last time I met your tribe lass," The bartender threatened, "Don't make me do it again."

"You're old now, Aedan," Raven said as she drew her hands across his cheek, "Maybe you should remember that."

The Irishman growled as she pulled away, pulling out her blade and slashing, creating a portal. The sharp sound of falling glass filled the air as the pair turned around to see the server girl cowering in fear.

"Make these a double." Qrow responded, the girl nodded as she took off down the stairs. The man would have made a comment, but a harsh coughing sound filled the air. He whirled around to see Aedan falling into his chair, coughing into his hands. He pulled his hands away to reveal blood.

"Aedan…" Qrow gasped as he jumped to his feet, running over.

"I'm fine lad," Aedan said as he waved him away, "Just a fit."

"Aedan…you can't keep on like this," Qrow said as he sat down, "Go home…get treatment, let them help."

"Lad…nothing can save me from this," The older man said as he leaned back, "Right now…I've got to see this through to the end…and trust me, I'm looking to talk with Ozpin when I get the chance."

 **At Patch…**

Richard smiled as Yang walked out with her new arm on, it was time to start training.


	18. Kin

The trio left the ship, Blake leading the pair, Azul holding his guitar case close, his eyes going everywhere.

"You seem nervous," Blake said as they walked, "The Faunas here are peaceful towards humans for the most part."

"It's the other side of them that worries me." Azul whispered as they continued down the road, Sun ogling the faunas city.

Azul's eyes snapped back suddenly as he heard a crow, his eyes going towards a man in a brown trench coat and a red poncho, a brown cowboy hat decorated his head. A woman standing nearby wearing a purple dress that was cut to show off her legs and reveal her shoulders watched as well, the man reached up and tipped his hat towards the teen in blue, almost black. The teen nodded as he turned back around to catch up with his friends, Sun was still taking in the sights.

"Sure is crowded." Sun said awkwardly as he rubbed his head.

"Yes…yes it is." Blake sighed as she moved on, Azul and Sun following. They walked through an area filled with smaller homes.

"Is it always so cramped?" Sun groaned as he dodged someone coming at him.

"Well, when you try to put an entire species onto an island that's two thirds desert? Yeah, it tends to get cramped." Blake said as her fist clenched.

"What?" Sun asked, Azul groaning as he did, "You guys have got that much more space? Why waste it?"

"IT's not like the desert in Vacuo, Sun," Blake groaned as she started to explain, "The wildlife here is more dangerous than in other regions."

"Debatable actually," Azul's comment made the cat faunas turn, "Not as bad as the sea."

"So…they gave up a island, in the corner of Remnant, just to shut is up?" Sun asked.

"That's a pretty good summary." Blake sighed as she started walking.

"Ever wonder why the White Fang gets so many members?" Azul said as he patted the monkey on the back.

"We tried to make the best of things," Blake said as she came to the crux of a cliff, "This is…"

"An incredibly complex name." Azul jumped in, getting a look from Blake.

"Woah," Sun swooned as he looked over the sight, "It's beautiful, I take it all back, this place looks great, why would anyone ever leave?"

"That's not the point Sun," Blake yelled, "We asked to be equal, instead we were given an island and told to make due. We did our best, we made a home were any faunas could feel welcome. This island, this town, will always be a reminder that we are not real people. That we are still second class citizens."

"Si," Azul said as he walked over, "Blood and tears spilt over what? Just a meager hand out."

"Well…time to go home." The cat faunas said quietly.

"Really? Where is it?" Sun said before pointing at other houses, eventually, Blake grabbed his hand.

"It's that one." Blake said, directing his hand towards what appeared to be a very large house.

"Mierda Santa." Azul muttered as the trio started walking, the three not talking till they approached the house. Blake walking up and raising her hand to the door knocker, only to falter.

"What is it?" Sun asked.

"It's…It's just that it's been a long time since I've seen my parents." Blake confessed, earning a grunt from Azul.

"Well…you came all this way." Sun added, Blake sighed as she reached up and knocked with said knocker, the sound echoing.

"Ok, if we're being honest? That's kind of intimidating." Sun said as he straitened up.

"Very." Azul sputtered as the door opened, making the group jump. A woman opened the door, with cat ears and a black dress.

"Blake?" The woman asked, her face in total shock.

"Hi mom…" Blake said quietly, only for her mother to grab her in a hug.

"My baby girl…" The woman whispered, Blake smiling and hugging her back.

"Kali! Who is it?" A deep voice boomed, getting Azul and Sun's attention. They both swallowed as one of the biggest faunas they had seen walked up to them, his eyes widening as he saw Blake…

 **Meanwhile, on the docks…**

Jesse groaned as he opened the bar door, Theodora following behind him.

"Of all the places to hide a will, he had to hide so far away?" The bounty hunter groaned as he walked towards the bar.

"I'm sure Fantine had his reasons." Theodora responded.

"Probably, or he just did it to be a jackass." Jesse responded in kind. Theodora ignored the man as they reached the bar, the bartender turning around, the man gasping as he saw the two.

"Jesse, Theodora?" The man asked with a Scottish accent, he wore a white shirt with brown pants, a red beard covered his face and his brown eyes, but the most prominent feature was the scar on his neck. It was a rope burn, one that was very clear, "What are you doing together?"

"Wow, I mean, I can't associate with a woman?" Jesse laughed, earning a giggle from Theodora, "That's mildly insulting, anyway, pour me a double would you?"

"Aye, that I can," The man said as he reached under the bar, pulling out a double shot glass, he turned to Theodora, "You?"

"I'll take one as well." The woman responded, earning a grant from the bartender, who grabbed another glass.

"What brings you here? I haven't seen you two together in a bar in a few years." The man said as he placed the glasses on the table, pulling out a brown bottle.

"Business, Fantine sent us here to collect something." Theodora replied, earning a look from the man.

"Fantine dead?" The man asked, his eyes looking over the both of them.

"…Yes, he died a few months ago," Theodora answered, "Patton was killed as well, Ravencroft is still in Vale. She's…recovering from an ordeal."

"Well, my wishes to her then," The man responded as he looked at Jesse, "Did you kill him?"

Jesse spat out his drink, hacking and coughing.

"The hell Willy?" The bounty hunter asked, clearing his throat.

"What? It's a legitimate question," The man said as he raised his hands up defensively, "Last time I saw these two, they almost decorated my walls with each other's brains!"

"No…he died during the assault on Beacon," The woman answered, "We were in a town near Vale, we decided to help evacuate. Things went wrong, Grimm attacked, right before the White Fang…"

"Hush now," The bartender said as he leaned in, "Look…people round here don't know that the White Fang are bad, you start slandering? Things might get a bit heated."

"Don't know? Do they ignore the news?" Jesse growled in shock.

"Can't answer that, even Ghiri hasn't heard anything about it," Willy responded, "Only reason I heard about it was through some sailors dropping off some goods from Vale, not enough proof to convince him. Probably think I've on one of my rant's about them again."

"Too be honest," Theodora said as she leaned in, "You did say some pretty bad stuff about them before they went bad."

"Can you blame me?" Willy said as he gestured towards his neck, "Last time I talked to some faunas right's movement, they tried to hang me."

"We're getting off track," Jesse said as he held up his hand, "Look, do you have what we came here for?"

"It's in the back somewhere," Willy responded, "I'll give it to you tonight, I'm in the middle of running a bar. Do you need a room for the night?"

"If you wouldn't mind." Theodora responded as Jesse got to his feet, the woman ignoring him as he started off.

"Where's he going?" Willy asked, getting a nod from Theodora.

"An old friend wanted him to deliver a message to the Belladonna's, what about that room?" Theodora pressed.

"I've got two available, both only have one bed though…but one may open up later…" The bartender started before Theodora cut him off.

"Oh, that will do nicely." Theodora said with a wink, earning a bit of a chuckle from Willy.

"OK, that's a bit unexpected, anyway, you gonna stay with me and drink or follow Jesse?" The man said with a laugh.

"I'd better go and make sure he doesn't get into trouble." The woman said as she turned to follow the bounty hunter out the door, she quickly caught up to him.

"Got a room?" The man asked.

"Yes, we'll get Fantine's will later," Theodora replied before stopping, "Hey…Jesse?"

"Yeah?" The man said as he turned.

"Why did you and Fantine hate each other so much? I asked him, but he never responded." Theodora said as she shifted her weight uncomfortably.

"That's a…long story," Jesse responded before turning around, "Let's just say…me and him agreed to disagree on some pretty major things…that and one other thing."

"What?" Theodora asked, leaning in closer.

"Well…I might have been the one to scar him by accident." Jesse said as he scratched his head.

"Wait…what? He always said it was a Beowolf that did it…" Theodora said in a bit of amazement.

"It was an accident, I set of a gas leak and it blew up," The bounty hunter responded, "Burned the bastards face pretty good, after that…well…"

"That was you?" Theodora said in shock, "Well…that explains why he hated you so much, he was very prideful in his face."

"Pretty much…anyway, let's get to Ghiri. He needs to see this." The bounty hunter said, happy to be on a new subject.

 **Back at the Belladonna household…**

"What we've heard?" Blake yelled at the two White Fang representives, "We've seen firsthand! Your fanatics slaughtered people!"

"What is she talking about?" Ghiri asked, slowly turning towards the two men.

"Precisely what we came to talk about with you your grace." The taller of the two asked.

"Is everything alright?" Kali asked as she approached.

"Wait, you guys really don't know?" Sun yelled in shock.

"Know what?" Ghiri asked, his tone getting deadly low.

"The White Fang was at the fall of Beacon, they attacked innocent civilians, and released Grimm into the school." Blake stated after a bit of deliberation.

Ghiri suddenly stopped and turned back to the pair.

"Is…this…true?" He asked, his voice full of anger.

"It is, your grace." The shorter one replied.

"Don't act like…" Blake started before Ghiri cut her off.

"Explain yourselves…" He said in a threatening tone.

"Though it's painful to admit, it's become clear that the Vale branch of the White Fang are no longer obeying the orders of the leader Kong, rather…they've elected to follow one…Adam Taurus." The taller of the two stated, "I believe your all familiar with his…extreme philosophy."

"You know, this wasn't the first time the White Fang started shooting up Vale." Sun growled.

"The high council had their suspicions, but they had no proof until this latest incident." The shorter of the two stated.

""Chucharias!" Azul yelled suddenly, "Incident my ass that was a declaration of war."

"A tragedy." The taller of the two said in a calm tone.

"Your grace," The shorter one started, "We came to inform you that Adam and his followers do not represent the will of the White Fang."

"And how can I be sure of that?" Ghiri asked.

"We understand how you are suspicious," The taller one began, "The White Fang's tactics have become a bit more…extreme since you stepped down from the high leader, but this…this is no harmless venture."

"We have evidence for you to review." The smaller man replied.

"I will, but for now…I've got to reconnect with my daughter." Ghiri said as he gestured towards Blake.

"We understand," The taller man responded, "if you don't wish to continue the fight.

"Who say's I'm done fighting?" Blake said as she took a step forward. The pair looked at each other and nodded.

"If you decide to return, you know where to find us." The taller man responded.

"Sister Ilya would be most gracious in that case." The shorter man responded.

"Goodbye." Ghiri stated as he closed the doors, Blake walking away.

"Bastards…" Azul muttered as he turned around and followed, only for another knock at the door to fill the air. Ghiri groaned as he turned around, ripping open the door.

"What?!" He yelled, only to shrink as he saw who was at the door.

"Well…that was a bit rude," Jesse said as he lit a smoke, Theodora sighing as he did, "But considering the news you're receiving with Blake being home…I guess that's a bit understandable."

"We come bearing news from an old friend." Theodora said as she nudged Jesse, who reached into his pocket, pulling out a letter. Ghiri took it from him and, after taking a look at the seal, his head snapped up.

"He's alive?" The faunas asked.

"My exact words," Jesse said as he blew some smoke, he looked past the man, "Oi, Blake, Sun, Azul…nice to see you got here ok."

The trio ignored him as they stormed off.

"Jesse…the last time we talked…" Ghiri sighed, "Did you find him?"

"Find who?" Theodora asked.

"No…I didn't," Jesse sighed, "Lead turned up empty, I guess I won't ever find him."

"Who?" Theodora asked again, the cowboy sighed.

"Last time I was here, I was following on a lead that I'd gotten. My pa, my real pa, might have come through here at some point," Jesse said as he turned to leave, "Anyway, Ghiri, make sure to read that…it's important."

The pair walked away, although Theodora was giving the man a look.

"Why were you looking for him?" Theodora asked, "You don't seem the type to really care about your lineage."

"It's not that…" Jesse said with a sigh, "Look…I grew up in Vacuo on a small farm, the only reason I'm here is because my pa came in, got drunk, managed to woo my mother, and got her pregnant before he cleared out. My mother ended up with a baby in one of the worst spots in Vacuo, the only reason we survived was because my step father came in."

"So…why are you looking for your real father?" Theodora asked as the pair walked towards the bar, "You talk like you really loved your step father."

"Because if any bastard is willing to get drunk off his ass and fuck a woman, he can at least help out in some respect," Jesse growled, "My real father didn't do anything for me, just left me and ma to dry in the wind."

"Revenge then?" Theodora asked as they neared the bar, "You wanted revenge?"

"Pretty much, I hate the bastard, and he better hope I never find him." The bounty hunter growled as they entered the bar.

"Room's 2B," The man said as he started drying some glasses, "Need anything else?"

"Not yet," Jesse said as he leaned on the bar, "Just keep those drinks coming."

 **A few hours later…**

Theodora was in her room, staring at the briefcase in front of her. It had a symbol on it, a white mask, and she could tell it was of solid construction. It was built to last, be like Fantine to make something use something like this. Jesse was still below, helping Willy clean up, payment for having sent two faunas into the bar.

She unlatched the briefcase, looking inside of it. It had a letter and a folder designated "Beacon Hospital," as well as some other papers. She looked over the letter quickly, the seal bearing the same design as the case. She quickly broke it open and started to read, the woman sighed as she read the first part of it. Only to gasp as she got to the last part, she quickly grabbed the file and opened it. Theodora's eyes widened as she looked over the data that was in said file, the words starting to click in her mind.

She dropped the file onto the table, right before jumping as the door opened.

"Get it open?" Jesse asked as he entered, nursing a black eye.

"Ye…yeah I did," Theodora said as she quickly covered the file with some of the other papers from the case, "It's his will."

"Ah, I should have figured," The bounty hunter said as he sat down on the bed, pulling of his boots, "Any last minute confessions?"

"No…no…nothing like that," Theodora sputtered out, "Just what he's left us."

"Won't be good till we go back to Vale," Jesse said as he yawned, "We can't leave just yet though."

"Why not?" Theodora asked, her voice getting less stressed.

"What do the White Fang not wear in Menagerie?" The cowboy asked, earning an odd look from Theodora.

"Mask?" The woman replied.

"Bingo," Jesse replied, "I saw about three mask's when we arrived…something sure as hell ain't right."

"OK," Theodora responded as she looked at the letters, "Do you think we could get a decent postal service?"

"Probably, gonna send that stuff to Ravencroft?" Jesse asked.

"Tomorrow morning…tonight…" Theodora said as she walked over and switched off the lights, "I've got different plans…"

 **A few days later…**

A woman with jet black hair leaned over the chess board, her eyes shifting as the man across from her moved a pawn. He was a big man, his black shirt barely holding over his frame, however, his size was offset by his kind eyes, but his most striking feature? His legs, they were of a horse. He looked up towards the woman, her bandages shifting as she herself shifted.

"Dirk, why do you insist on playing these games with me?" The woman growled, her eyes narrowing on the man as she moved her knight.

"Ravencroft," The man known as Dirk said as he moved his bishop, "You're still recovering, during that time you must keep your wits up."

"I'm fine," Ravencroft growled as she moved her queen, "I can go back out and fight."

"You claim that," Dirk responded as he once again moved his piece, "But when you wake up screaming in the middle of the night, it tells me different."

"I'm telling you," The woman responded, "I'm perfectly capable of handling myself out there."

"Maybe with some drugs in your system," The man said with a chuckle, "But when you run out? You'll be helpless."

The woman growled as she moved her rook, she couldn't deny he had a point, but her teammate was out there doing god knows what with that…man. She sighed as she remembered Jesse, that idiot was one of the few men who could upset Fontaine, which was impressive in and of itself, but could also go toe to toe with the man as well. Going after other hunters would do that to you, she supposed as she moved her queen.

The pair was interrupted by a pecking at a nearby window, the two turning to see…a crow at the window seal. It had a letter tied to it's feet.

"Friend of yours?" Dirk asked, with a chuckle, "Though…I guess that's a raven."

"Eric?" Ravencroft said quietly as she walked over and opened the window, letting the bird in.

"So you do know this bird?" The horse faunas asked with a bit of surprise.

"Yeah…it was at the town where…Fontaine died, it took a liking to Theodora," Ravencroft chocked out, "What's he doing here?"

The bird raised it's foot up, seemingly gesturing towards the letter on his feet. Ravencroft grabbed the letter and opened it, sighing as the second piece of paper fell onto the table.

"Who's it from?" Dirk asked, his concern growing.

"Theodora, says this is his will," The woman replied, looking over to see a second piece of paper attached, "Guess she found it after all, she also say's she going to stay in Menegrie for a while. Try to clean things up."

"Sounds like her," Dirk said as he moved a piece, "What's the letter say?"

"It reads…" Ravencroft started…

 _To those who remain of Team FRST_

 _If you are reading this, then I have passed on, and thus, I wish to leave to you my worldly possessions. As the three of you have been my constant companions in the time that has passed during our careers and hunters, all of what I possessed in this life will be passed on to you and you alone. We have shared many an adventure and shed much blood together, and that has brought us all closer than I ever thought possible. I began my life on the streets of Vale with little more to my name than a torn and ruined coat and whatever change I could cut from the purses of those who paid me no heed, I am proud to have ended my life with women of such character as yours, so thank you for all this time._

 _To the brave and bold Samantha Patton_

 _You held us aloft and raised our spirits in all the battles we fought. Though you may have come from humble beginnings in battle, you rose to become one of the finest fighters I have ever seen, one who I have owed my life to on many an occasion. To you, I leave my entire worldly fortune. While it may not amount to as much amany of the wealthier men in Vale, it is what I had, and it is now yours._

 _To the beautiful and sharp Theodora Xander_

 _Others may have spoken ill of you in the time I knew you, and likely will continue to do so. However, I was proud to have gotten to know the woman behind the rumours, and proud to have had the chance to have worked beside you. I wish you all the best in life, and that you find happiness. To you, I leave my famous coat, the Coat of Arms and all that is contained within May it serve you well in all your endeavours_

 _To my beloved Elaine Ravencroft_

 _You were my first companion as a huntsman and without you, I would have never assembled this fine team. While your previous leader inflicted many horrors upon you, I was honoured to have worked with you, and I thank you for placing your trust in me. To you, I leave my prized rapier and the leadership of Team FRST. I know you will lead them well and I am confident that placing them in your hands is the right choice._

 _The three of you have been the finest companions and friends a man could ask for, and I was honoured to have spent my years in service to Vale with you at my side. It was the three of you who made surviving these years not only possible, but even enjoyable at times. Though it pains me to do so, I must ask one final favour from the three of you. A last request, if you will. In my recent travels, I have discovered that one of my, shall we say, excursions, during my young life has given birth to a child. You all know him, for he has fought by our sides multiple times. Theodora, you know him better than any of us, for he saved you. Though he knows not that I am his father, he has grown to have a strong distaste for me. I ask that you tell him in the events of my death. Though the truth of his father may never reach the light of day, I know my child has grown into a happy and strong adult. Included in this letter is the genetic comparison data that proved that Jesse Stampede is indeed my son._

Ravencroft stopped as soon as she spoke that outloud…her hands instantly lunging out at the fallen piece of paper, she grabbed it and held it up.

"Is…is it there?" The man asked in a strained tone of voice.

"That's…that's not…" Ravencroft said as she dropped the letter, "Of all the fates…why did this have to be him?"


	19. Home Sweet Home

**Insert "Fallout New Vegas Mysterious Broadcast," Bethesda…**

Rick groaned as he woke up, the pounding in his head racking his cranium with pain. Micca stirred slightly beside him before settle again, the psychopath sighed as he got to his feet, his bare chest shining with sweat as he pulled his shirt on. The bearded teen walked outside of his tent, his eyes adjusting to the light. He looked over at the remains of their campfire, still smoldering, sending the smell of burning wood into the air.

The teen moved over and put his hands near the coals, feeling the heat rise off of them. Rick looked over at a pile of about three logs and some kindling, he reached into pack, pulling out a clear bottle filled with clear liquid. The teen smiled as he threw some kindling onto the coals before pouring a bit of the liquid, a small fire surged up, enveloping the kindling.

The psycho grabbed a log and carefully placed it on top of the kindling, the flames slowly licking it as they took. Rick leaned back onto his haunches, looking around the forest. He sighed once again as he got to his feet, going over to a nearby pack, pulling out a pan. He looked at it, rubbing his hands along the inside, pulling them away to reveal…black. Rick groaned once again as he looked around, the teen remembering that they had passed a spring on their way here.

He walked over and grabbed his weapons, didn't want to be caught unprepared, and set off with his pan. The teen walked through the forest, the sound of the creatures accompanying him as he moved towards his objective. The sound of the spring caught his ears as he walked, the teen picking up the pace as he approached. The spring beckoned him as he caught sight of it, he lifted up his pan, before moving towards said spring.

The teen lowered the metal into the spring, before rubbing the surface with his knuckles. Black flowed off of it, moving further down the stream. The teen lifted the pan up, the surface gleaming as bright as he could do it in these conditions. Rick put the pan into his pack, getting up and wiping the grass off his pants. He suddenly stiffened, his hand going down to his ax, a twig snapped and he whirled around, snarling…only to stop as he saw Jaune fall down.

"Sorry," Rick said as he put his ax in the proper place before holding out his hand to the blonde, who took it, "You startled me."

"Yeah, I figured," Jaune said with a awkward laugh before looking at the pan handle behind Rick's head, "Dirty again?"

"Yep," The psychopath groaned, "That's what happens when you don't clean the damn thing."

"You forgot to clean it when we were in the village, didn't you?" Jaune said as he walked over and leaned down to take a drink of water.

"Yeah," Rick responded, "Add it to my long list of mistakes."

"Don't put yourself down," Jaune said as he got to his feet, "It was a simple mistake."

"That's the spirit," The bearded teen said as he turned around, "Let's get back to camp, got to wake the troops up."

"You ready for Nora to jump all over you?" Jaune said with a grin before his face fell, "Hey…Rick? Are you OK?"

"Yeah…why do you ask?" The psychopath replied, stopping in his tracks.

"It…look, I noticed that you've been drinking a bit more the last few days," The blonde said as he rubbed the back of his head, "Even Nora noticed it, that's what made us concerned."

"Well…there is a reason, guess talking about it couldn't hurt," Rick sighed as he reached into his pack, pulling out the bottle, "Catch."

Jaune caught the bottle as Rick tossed it, he looked at the label: Traditional White Lightning.

"Look at where it was brewed." The psychopath ordered, Jaune nodded and turned it around, the label read: Brewed with care and affection in Tradition, Vale.

"Oh…" Jaune stuttered, "You miss home?"

"Yeah," The bearded teen sighed once again, "It didn't help that me and my pa didn't part ways on the best of terms."

"What do you mean?" The knight wearily asked, slightly afraid of the answer.

"Not like that," The teen replied, "It's just that me and him had some things we needed to say that we didn't get a chance to say."

"Like what?" Jaune asked, his concern growing.

"Like…well…" The psychopath said with a headrub, "…huh…I'll just be straight with you, I spent about five years going into an asylum. I never knew why, but…before I left, my dad said that he wanted to talk about it. We didn't get a chance too, I had to leave before he could talk to me."

"Well…that's…" Jaune stammered, "I don't know how to respond to that."

"I don't think anyone can, but hey…I'm just happy we didn't end on a bad turn." Rick said with a grin.

"Well…sorry to hear that, but I have to ask one question," Jaune said with a sudden grin, "Are you ready for Nora?"

"Geez, thanks for reminding me." Rick groaned as they walked back, the pair arrived back at the camp, where Micca was attending the fire. She looked up at the two as they returned with a smile.

"So, where have you two been?" The faunas asked.

"Cleaning the pan," Jaune said as he sat down, "Rick almost axed me a question."

"He snuck up on me!" Rick interjected, getting a laugh from Micca.

"Sure he did," The girl laughed as she pulled out a package, "Come on, start frying up that bacon."

"Yes ma'me," Rick grunted as he pulled out the pan, putting it over the fire, "Let's get cooking."

The sizzling sound of bacon frying soon filled the air, Micca and Jaune sitting around chatting as Rick focused on the food. Soon, a growl filled the air, making Rick stiffen.

"Oh…crap…" Rick muttered, right before the tent with Nora and Ren burst open and Nora came charging out, her eyes snapping towards Rick.

"BACOOOON!" The teen yelled as she charged him, the psychopath ducking as she tried to tackle him.

"Nora," Ren's voice came out of his tent as he followed, "Calm down."

"But Reeeen," The girl pleaded, "It's bacon."

"And you'll get some in time, but Rick's got to fry it up for us. It takes time." Ren said calmly as he sat down near the fire, a shuffling sound came from behind him.

"What's with all the noise?" Ruby asked as she exited her tent before her eyes snapped towards the food, "Food!"

"Ruby, calm down," Micca said with a laugh, "We've already got one person about to rip Rick's arms off, we don't need another."

Ruby grumbled as she sat down, both Ren and Jaune got to their feet, taking down the tents. Soon, both Ruby and Nora where happly munching down on breakfast, as well as the rest of the gang. Rick got his last, sitting down and chewing on his bacon. The teen looked around as the rest of the group ate, the rest of the team where talking and looking over a map of the area. The psychopath looked at his food and he could remember his dad's saying.

 _Salt the food son, never know when it needs a bit more flavor._

"Yeah…yeah I know that." The psychopath said as he scratched his head, right before his eyes snapped towards a rustling, a fox scampering away as his eyes fell on it. Rick sighed, he wondered where his friend Alex was now…

 **In Atlas… (If the music is still playing, keep it going.)**

Alex looked over the notes on his desk, the morning light coming through a nearby window. The faunas rubbed his eyes as the light reflected off the paper, he got to his feet with a yawn. His lab coat trailing behind him as he moved to a cabinet, stopping to look around the room. It was his lab setup, a medium room with a desk, table, cabinet and a Dust storage crate. Most of the items bore the Schnee logo, he shook his head and opened the cabinet, pulling out a vial of Dust.

Alex held it up to the light, watching as the light diffused across the purple surface. He couldn't help but smile as he did, this was what he desired to create for so long, and it took him only two weeks when he got access to the Dust that the Schnee's had. He heard the sound of the door opening, the faunas quickly putting the Dust up in the case.

"Mr. Brecken," A hard female voice filled the air, making the Fox faunas inwardly groan, "I've come to discuss some things with you."

"Captain Julia," Alex said as he turned to face the woman, "Here without an appointment I see."

"You said you couldn't fit me into your schedule, so I'm here." The woman said, she was clad in Atlas military gear, the light reflecting off of the white outfit hurt Alex's eyes. Her red eyes glared at him, Alex did his best not to growl.

"All right," He said, "Let's talk, what did Ironwood send you for?"

"Ironwood didn't send me," Julia replied, "It's my job to protect you while you're in Atlas."

"Ah yes, I forget sometimes," The Faunas said with a fake laugh, "Your not snooping in my notes when I'm not looking."

"I'm not," The woman growled, "My only job is to make sure someone doesn't harm you, not to spy."

"Well…at least you didn't bring your tin cans this time," Alex said as he walked over to his desk, gesturing at a nearby seat for Julia to sit in, "So…what do you want to discuss?"

"I want to discuss the nature of your relationship to Weiss Schnee," Julia said as she sat down, "You've been talking to her for a fair amount of your time here."

"Am I not allowed to talk to a friend?" Alex replied with a smile.

"When a friend is heiress to one of the richest organizations in Atlas? It's a bit worrisome actually," Julia said as she leaned forward, "People are talking, some of the rumors are getting out of hand and I need to separate fact from gossip."

"And pray tell…what is this gossip?" The faunas replied, "All good things I hope."

"Gossip that can get you into serious trouble if it turns out to be true," The captain said with her eyes narrowing, "I'll ask again…what is your relationship to Weiss?"

"We are friends, nothing more," Alex said as he leaned forward, "If you want a witness? Ask Klein, the Schnee butler, he'll attest that me and Weiss are just friends."

"Got it," Julia said as she leaned back, "Other than that, I also need to know if you're going to the ball tonight."

"Of course," Alex said with a laugh, "Mr. Schnee extended a gracious invitation to me, a lowly scientist, how could I refuse?"

"You do know that…" Julia began only for the faunas to cut her off.

"What? That I'm the pride of the workforce? That Mr. Schnee needs to show everyone that his company is no longer a bunch of prejudiced men?" The fox said with a grin, "I know everything about that."

"So you do know, but…Alex," Julia sighed, "The situation is getting worse by the second, I've reviewed your history, so I need you to promise me that you won't do anything…unseemly at the ball tonight. If someone causes a scene tonight, then…"

"Then all hell with break loose, I know," Alex said as his phone suddenly went off, "Oh good heavens, look at the time!"

He suddenly reached into his desk and pulled out a file, handing it to Julia.

"That's something that should satisfy the general, please…stay as long as you like, I'm scheduled for a final suit fitting for tonight," The faunas said as he threw his lab coat onto a nearby table, "Be sure to lock the door behind you."

Julia stared at the teen as he left, oh…how she hated that idiot. She looked at the file in her hand before her eyes shifted to the desk, she looked around. Julia, despite her pride telling her not too, knew that she had to be sure that Alex wasn't planning something. The woman moved herself around to the other side of his desk, opening the various drawers.

She found that one of them was locked, she smiled, Jackpot! She got on her knees, pulling out a knife. Julia had to be careful, one wrong move and it would incriminate her. A short jiggle later and the desk popped open, the captain silently applauded herself as she fully opened it to reveal…two files.

Julia quickly pulled the two out, one was a blue folder and the other was a white one with the Atlas seal branded on it. She quickly opened that one, a few papers were in it, all labelled: Dr. Barber. She pulled one off, her eyes scanning it.

It read: "Alex, this is your last formal notice from me, as I said in our last session, you are cleared for active duty. I know that it was hard for you, but you have progressed remarkably well for someone of your age and experience. I hope that if you have any more of these symptoms that you'll come back and talk to me." The final part was signed Psychatrist Barber.

"Well…that explains why he had such a crammed schedual," Julia muttered as she opened the other file, this was unmarked. She opened it to reveal a sheet of paper labeled with a Y, her eyes narrowed at this as she opened the file. Julia read a bit of it, before slamming it shut and throwing it back into the drawer, followed by the other file, "What the ever loving hell?"

 **(End Music) In Mistral…**

"Oniyuri," Nora said as she brushed the foliage off the sign, "Never heard of it."

"Me either." Jaune muttered as he looked at the sign as well.

"Not on the map," Rick responded as he put the map back, "So…that can't be good."

"I have," Ren said, making everyone jump, "You might think of it as Anima's mountain Glenn, had it never been completed. Years ago, the richest members of Mistral where unhappy with how things were being run. Frustrated with the council, they pooled their resources together to build their own cities, with their own laws."

"That rarely ends well." Rick muttered, getting a look from Micca.

"They hoped that one day, it may even become it's own kingdom," Ren continued, "Many thought it would be the future, I know my parents did."

"What happened?" Ruby asked, her voice low and scared.

"What always happens…" Ren replied, earning a sigh from the group.

"The Grimm." Jaune said quietly.

"Not just anyone…" Ren said as his fist clenched, causing the group to exchange a worried look.

"There's clearly some emotional baggage there," Micca whispered, "Probably best not to pry."

A cloud of birds made the group jump.

"Come on, let's get out of here," Jaune said as he turned to leave, "This place give's me the creeps."

"Same…" Rick muttered as he turned to follow, Micca's eye's looked around warily before they settled on the psychopath. The thought occurred to her that his village might be in the same state, no wonder he seemed on edge.

 **Meanwhile, in Atlas…**

Alex looked across the ballroom, his white suit clashing with his red tail. His hand clenched a glass of champagne, his eyes going everywhere. These kinds of gathering bothered him, ploys to gain some public sympathy were something that was frowned upon where he came from. A voice shook him from his thoughts, he turned to see a teenager in a purple dress.

"Maria, didn't expect to see you here." The faunas said as he looked her over.

"I'm here at the request of my father," The teen sighed, "He wanted some representation here tonight and Julia was busy."

"Ah, these politics…" Alex groaned, "Where I come from, flowerly speeches and honeyed words could only get you so far."

"So I take it you're not to thrilled to be here?" Maria asked with a agreeing tone.

"Nope," Alex said as he took a drink from his glass, "I'm here to do two things, to look good for the cameras and to keep an eye on Weiss."

"Speaking of the heiress," Maria said as she looked across the room, "We might want to help her out."

Alex's eyes drifted over to see Weiss talking with a teenager, her posture showing rage.

"Let's go make sure she doesn't kill someone." The faunas said as he and Maria started walking towards the heiress.

"Get out." Weiss said through grit teeth.

"What?" The boy said, only to get a hand on his shoulder.

"I agree with her," Maria growled, "You're insulting the very purpose of this gathering with your presence."

"How dare…" The teen started before Alex stepped in.

"Oh, yes…I do know you, I thought I did," The faunas said with a gentle laugh, "Tell me…how's that maid doing?"

The boy gulped suddenly, recognizing the threat, and suddenly turned tail and took off.

"Ah, if only some where as good as hiding secrets as I was," Alex said with a chuckle before turning to Weiss, "Now let's start having fun before…"

That's when a woman started laughing and causing a ruckus.

"Shit…now, Weiss…she's probably drunk...and I'm being ignored…" Alex droned on as Weiss started yelling across the room.

"This isn't good," Maria said, albeit with a bit of respect, "But should we stop her?"

"Weiss!" Jauque's voice rang out.

"Don't stop her now," Alex said with a sigh, "Might as well ride this train to the end, can't get much worse than this."

Weiss's father walked over and grabbed Weiss, his eyes full of rage.

"Let me go!" Weiss screamed, ripping herself out of the man's grip and falling to the floor, that's when a glyph appeared on the ground.

"Oh…CRAP!" Alex yelled as he saw the Grimm being summoned, Maria instinctively reached down towards a blade…only to remember she didn't have one on her.

"Dust," Maria growled, "That's not good."

The Grimm charged at the woman and leaped…only for it to be shot out of the air, the crowd all turned to face Ironwood, a pistol smoking in his hand.

"Arrest her!" The woman screamed, the general gave Weiss a quick look.

"She's the only one making sense around here." Ironwood said with a deathly tone, Weiss slowly looked up to see her fathers scowl.

"I was wrong…" Alex said as the party goers all looked around with fear on their faces, "It could get worse."

"At least the party wasn't dull as I thought it was going to be." Maria said as she looked around as well, her eyes going everywhere.

"Would I be correct in assuming that Thatch will still try to kill me if I talk to him?" The Faunas asked suddenly.

"Yep…not getting her out that way." Maria replied.

"Well…shit." The fox said as he readied to leave…he had a long day ahead of him.

 **In Mistral…**

"I'm gonna kill him." Rick said as he readied his ax, his neck still aching from the kick he suffered as the guy started to monologue.

"You can't kill him," Micca replied as she readied her ax, "We aren't going to…"

"Goddess…" The man said in a deep, lustful voice.

"Rick…" Micca replied.

"Yes?" The psychopath responded.

"Can you let your lesser half deal with him?" Micca asked suddenly, making Rick smile.

"Know you're talking my language!" The Butcher yelled as he jumped in, making the man duck. The psychopath followed by kicking him in the face, the man yelping as he fell to the ground. He roared as he jumped to his feet, stabbing forward with his blades. Rick proceeded to dodge them and follow up with a punch of his own.

"What…how are you able to predict my movements?" The man yelled.

"Because I'm crazy too!" The Butcher laughed as he lashed out again, only to get kicked in the gut and sent flying back into a building.

"Not crazy enough it seems," The man said with a cackle as he turned to the rest of the group, "Now then…who's next?"

"Micca…" The snake faunas turned to Ruby, "Make sure he's OK…and make sure he doesn't try to fight again, I don't think having two psychopaths who are literally willing to burn down this entire place to kill each other is a good idea."

"…you know what…you're right…" Micca said as she slapped her hand to her head, "Rick…stay in there!"

"Where else would I go?!" Rick yelled from inside the building, his voice groaning.

"He's probably fine…" Ruby said with a grin before the group charged in. Micca jumped into the hole after the teen, who was currently pulling himself of a piece of wood.

"Why was your aura down?" Micca asked softly.

"Because I'm a dumbass," Rick groaned as he pulled himself completely off, "And I really shouldn't have taken that dive after that bottle."

"I think any of us could have told you that." Micca said with a grin as she turned to look out the hole.

"They're in trouble," Rick groaned as he tried to get to his feet before falling, "That man…he's not a normal fighter or bandit."

"I could tell, but what makes you say…" Micca said right before her tongue suddenly shot out of her mouth.

"Uh…I don't think we're at that stage yet and is now really the best…" Rick started before Micca shot out of the building, "OK…leave me alone…that's probably not good."

"He's a faunas!" Micca yelled as she rounded the corner…only to see the tail, "Oh…of course I'm too late."

"Oh wait a minute," The man said as he turned to face the snake, "I do know you…you're the one who the blood hunter is partly bound too…my goddess has a keen interest in you."

"What are you talking about?" Micca said as she readied her weapon.

"Oh…goody, goody," The man said as he jumped up and down, "I get to bring in two prizes…"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Rick's voice came out from behind Micca, who turned to face him, "Is that what I sound like? Because if that is…then I'm really annoying."

"Don't worry," Micca said as she turned around, "You're not nearly as annoying as him."

The man smiled as he jumped towards her, knocking her back into Rick. The pair landed with Micca on top, Rick shaking the cobwebs out of his head. He looked behind her to see Ren and Nora on the ground, his eyes widened as he saw that scorpion tail going right for Ruby.

"No!" He yelled, only for the tail to be blocked by another blade. His eyes widened as he saw the wielder, "What the hell is Qrow doing here?"

"I don't know…" Micca said as she got up, holding out a hand to the psychopath, "But hopefully he's capable of handling that…maniac."

"I'm going to give you one chance…" That voice made both Rick and Micca's eyes widen even more as they turned to see Aedan walking down the streets, "Turn back before I rip your eyes out and feed them to you."


	20. Falling Apart

Alex sat down on a bench near Weiss's room, his foot tapping alongside his cane. He looked over its jade surface, a hawk head carved into its handle. The faunas was nervous to say the least, he saw Weiss's father storm into her room and could barely hear the sound of yelling through the walls. Alex growled as he thought of the man he was serving under, an abuser like him would have gotten shot in Tradition.

His thoughts where interrupted by the sound of a hand meeting flesh, the fox's hand clenched around his cane once again. Another thing that a man would be liable to get shot for in his hometown, how did these people function with all this subterfuge? He heard the door open and angry footsteps storm out, Alex got to his feet, about to round the corner, only to stop as he heard the voices of Whitley and Weiss talking.

Weiss suddenly stormed into her room before Alex rounded the corner, a sly smile on his face.

"Well, Mr. Whitley, how are you today?" The faunas said as he neared the young lord.

"Alex…why are you here?" The boy said, hiding his shock, "Didn't my father tell you that Weiss isn't allowed any visitors?"

"Why…yes he did," Alex said with a chuckle, "But I'm sure he won't find out."

"And why is that?" The boy said slyly, clearly believe he held the cards.

"Because of this," Alex said as he pulled out his scroll, opening it to reveal a photo of Whitley at strip club, "Now…your father might be able to get this debunked, with a little bit of palm greasing here and a few death threats there…but imagine the headlines: New heir to the Schnee company caught in den of immorality."

"An interesting proposal," Whitley responded, "But what's to stop me from telling my guards to simply confiscate your scroll?"

"An excellent question," The faunas said, "But you seem to forget that I'm currently showing you this with utmost confidence, do I seem like an arrogant man to you?"

Whitley paused at that statement…Alex was right, he seemed to be a fun loving idiot, but he never seemed like he was an arrogant man.

"I've got copies of this all over, if my scroll get confiscated, if I end up dying under mysterious circumstances," The fox said with a grin, "This will get out…and imagine the trouble you'd be in."

"You're bluffing…" The boy said with a smile, before frowning at Alex's grin getting bigger.

"Am I? Tell me…you've got a good poker face…but do you really want to take that risk?" Alex said as he stopped forward, making Whitley, for the first time, notice the height difference. Alex was just a few inches taller than him…but that was making a huge difference now.

"I'll see you around…" Whitley said calmly, before turning and leaving. Alex waited for him to round the corner, before knocking on the door.

"Go away…" Weiss growled through the door.

"It's Alex," The faunas said, he heard footsteps as the former heiress ran over and opened the door. The faunas looked into the room and smiled, "So…redecorating?"

"Alex…what do you want? If someone sees you then…" Weiss whispered, only for the faunas to hold up his hand.

"Already taken care of Whitley, and your guards aren't the best…besides…your gonna need some of these," Alex said as he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a vial of Dust, "I know you got some, but trust me…you're going to need more."

 **In Mistral…**

"As I live and breathe, Qrow Branwen, a true huntsman has entered the fray," Tyrian said as he giggled before turning to Aedan, "And Aedan Flint, and a legend that refuses to die."

"Oh look," Aedan said as he loosened up his shoulders, "An asshole who thinks he's being clever when, in fact, I've heard that about twenty times."

"Look pal, I'm not sure who you are," Qrow growled, "But you need to leave my niece alone."

"What about us?!" Rick yelled, earning a look from Aedan.

"I'm here for the rest of ya," The bartender said reassuringly, "Don't know about him."

"Why friends, my name is Tyrian," The scorpion faunas said as he held out his hand, "And I'm afraid that isn't possible, my assignment from her grace was to retrieve this young girl. So…that is what I must do, one mustn't upset queen."

"Queen?" Ruby asked, her confusion evident.

"Salam…" Qrow growled.

"Who?" Ruby asked once again.

"Tell you all about it later lass," Aedan growled as he readied his blade, "For now…we've got to kill this idiot."

"Took the words right out of my…" Qrow began, only for Tyrian to charge in and interrupt him. Aedan's eyes widened as his hands went down to his still sheathed blades, right before they clenched suddenly. The man's eyes widened as he felt the pain come once again, the samurai falling to his knee, coughing blood onto the nearby ground.

"Aedan!" Micca yelled as she ran over, grabbing his shoulders.

"I'm fine…you two get Ren and Nora," Aedan said through grit teeth, Micca and Rick looked at each other, "Now!"

The pair nodded as they turned around and took off, Aedan looked over to see that Qrow was currently getting shot at. His eyes snapped to see that Nora and Ren where charging in, the bartenders eyes widening in anger as Tyrian sent them flying back. Tyrian suddenly jumped at Qrow, locking blades with him.

"Don't come closer!" Qrow yelled, pushing Tyrian back.

"Fine!" Ruby yelled back, jumping onto a nearby building and trying to line up a shot, the two moving too fast for her to track. Aedan's eyes watched the combat unfold, his teeth still grit when, suddenly, Qrow's weapons was sent flying. The bartender snapped towards the pair, he growled…before slamming his fist into the ground.

Qrow looked at Tyrian with malice, before raising his fist to let out a punch…before being cut off by a katana sending Tyrian into the building.

"I told you to never lose your weapon," Aedan growled as he readied himself, ""Go get the damn thing!"

"Aedan…" Qrow said cautiously, but the bartender waved him off.

 **Insert "Only the Good Die Young," Iron Maiden…**

"Don't worry about me," Aedan growled, "I'm not dead yet."

The samurai surged forwards, his blade catching Tyrians, but rather than locking, Aedan allowed the blades to slid past. Tyrian laughed only to be cut off by Aedan head-butting him, following up by dragging his blade across the faunas man's chest. Tyrian growled as he whirled around, kicking at the air that was once Aedan's head. The older man lashed out with a punch of his own, sending the faunas back a few steps.

The faunas barely had time to react before Aedan followed suit by slashing downward, forcing the scorpion to dodge once again. Tyrian felt his back hit the wall, nowhere to run, Aedan yelled as he stabbed at the man's torso. The faunas laughed as he dodged to the side, the blade burying itself into the wall. Aedan ducked the stinger that came at his head, his hand suddenly grabbing out and seizing Tyrian by the throat.

The bartender growled as he slammed the faunas through the wall, Tyrian laughing as he landed on his feet. Aedan looked at the chunk of wall on his sword before breaking it off, his eyes locking on the man.

"I'd thought you'd hit harder," Tyrian laughed as he noticed that Aedan was breathing hard, "But I guess that's what happens when you meet a legend…disappointment."

Aedan replied by once again slashing at Tyrian, his rage starting to peak.

"He can handle him, right?" Ruby asked outside the building, Qrow was shaking his head in a slight panic.

"If he wasn't…he…damn it!" The man yelled as he readied his blade, "He's gonna get himself killed!"

"Why? Isn't he Aedan Flint of team TAAR? The man who held off an army?" Ruby asked, startled by Qrow's panic.

"If he was younger? This fight would be over already," Qrow said as he tried to look through the windows, "Even now he would be able to defeat him…if he wasn't already…"

"Already what?" Ruby asked, her voice suddenly filled with concern. Aedan was currently in the building, dodging the swing of Tyrian's blade. He tried to slash, but the faunas was quick on his feet to dodge again. The bartender was getting slower, exhaustion growing in his chest. His heavy breathing filling the room, ragged and wet sounding. The man coughed blood once again leaning on a nearby table, the faunas laughing at the sight.

"Oh…how the mighty have fallen," Tyrian laughed as he raised his tail, "Too bad…I think Cinder would have wanted to see you again."

The man's tail came flying down, only for Aedan to dodge and said tail to bury itself into the wood of the table. Tyrian roared as he ripped the table back, only for Aedan duck under it and follow up by punching Tyrian across the jaw. The faunas yelped in pain and surprise before Aedan followed up by a blow to the gut, before grabbing the man slamming his head into his own. The scorpion groaned in pain as he reared back, blood running down his nose.

He suddenly smiled as he saw Aedan stepping back, his breathing harder than before. Tyrian roared as he jumped forward, the table whirling around him to send Aedan to the ground. The bartender groaned as he landed on his back, before Tyrian kicked him into the wall. The old wood shuddered as Aedan fell down it, the faunas laughed as he ran over and kneed the bartender, his head slamming into the wall once again.

Tyrian followed by grabbing the man's head and slamming it into the wall again and again, letting off to look at his handiwork. Aedan's face was covered with cuts and bruises, blood ran freely down it. Tyrian laughed punching him again, finally sending him through the wall, the man landing right in front of Ruby and Qrow.

"Aedan!" Ruby yelled as he skidded to a halt, going to her knees to check on him. Qrow's eyes filled with rage as he turned to face Tyrian, a snarl on his face.

"You'll pay for that," Qrow growled as he pointed his weapon, only to notice that Ruby was next to him with her weapon drawn, "Ruby…get back."

"No…I'm not going to let anyone else get hurt!" The teen yelled, only to hear a shuffling behind her. The two turned to see Aedan on his feet, his hands on his blade.

"That's the spirit lass…" He said with a pained laugh, "Let's kick his ass back to his bitch."

Tyrian roared in anger at that statement, charging at Aedan, who calmly waited for him to get into range. Qrow and Ruby dove to the side, Aedan suddenly brought up his blade to catch Tyrian off guard. The faunas smiled as his tail came up, only for Qrow to dive in and deflect it. Ruby followed up by slashing at his torso, the aura crackling as he was sent flying back.

Tyrian landed on his feet, growling at the trio, daring then to attack. Aedan's eyes squinted as he looked at Tyrian, what was he planning? Ruby suddenly yelled out, running forward, Aedan's eyes snapped towards the upper parts of the building…which had precarious pieces of wood…

"Ruby!" Aedan yelled as the girl was sent flying into the building, said wood falling down. Qrow, ever the family man, suddenly surged forward, slicing the wood in half. The bartender's eyes widened as he saw that tail come out of nowhere…nicking the huntsman, his roar filled the air as he jumped forward, catching Tyrian's blades. The faunas laughed as his tail came up suddenly, perfect timing…except he suddenly felt a bit of pressure on his tail.

He turned around to see Crescent Rose wrapped around said tail, right before the rifle went off, slicing the barb off. Tyrian howled in pain as he let off Aedan.

"You buy…" Tyrian began, only to be cut off by a blade to his gut. Aedan roared as he kicked him off, sending him flying. The faunas landed on his feet, his hand's going to the fresh wound on his body. His eyes locked with the bartenders, only to look as the rest of the group formed around Qrow. The faunas gauged his chances…before taking off in the opposite direction.

"Well…not one of my best ideas…" Aedan laughed before he fell to his knees, barely keeping himself up with his blades.

 **A few hours late…**

"We gave her a choice and she chose." Qrow responded, only to get a growl from Aedan. The gang all looked at the bartender, he had a few bandages over his head and face…making him look even more intimidating. Jaune looked at the bartender, before getting off and pacing, clearly of the same thought.

Qrow kept on, talking, even calming down Jaune, but Aedan was only half listening. Qrow noticed, but knew that it wouldn't be prudent to talk about it now.

"And, of course, keeping them out of _her_ reach." Qrow finished, getting a worried look from everyone.

"Her…you mean Salem?" Ruby asked, her voice low.

"Yeah…no one knows what she wants, but that's not what matters," Qrow replied, getting an odd noise from Aedan, he ignored it, "What matters is that she wants the Relics…and if she gets them, it's not going to end well."

 **Meanwhile, at Menagerie…**

"Well…this is awkward amigo," Azul said as Sun fell into the room, "Should I...offer you a drink?"

 **Back in Mistral…**

"Alright, so let me get this straight," Rick started, "We've got powerful demi-god like woman with resources enough to pull off an attack on Beacon, got crazy powerful women who's power gets passed on through thought, and a bunch of dumbasses helping said demi-god find the women…how the flying hell does no one else notice this?"

"Shouldn't we be getting a message to Haven? What if their next?" Nora asked, her hand going to her mouth in shock.

"The headmaster at Haven saw what happened at Beacon," Qrow said calmingly, "He's not stupid, he'll be on his guard, and besides…it takes time to mobilize forces like that. Do you think they planned the assault on Beacon in one night?"

"Depends on if they actually notice the signs," Aedan replied gruffly, "And if they do, if they wait too long."

"And to answer your question, it's the same reason we keep quiet about the maidens," Qrow said as he turned to Jaune, ignoring Aedan's pointed words, "If the whole world know about Salam, it would be chaos. We'd have another Great War on our hands, and this time? You'd have to fight. Look, I had the same questions when I was you're age, but Ozpin always put his foot down 'we can't cause a panic.' Salem's smart, working in the shadows, using others so that in the end? We can only blame each other, trying to divide us…humanity…so far? She's done a pretty damn good job."

"Aye…but she's not the only one to blame." Aedan said as he looked at the fire.

"Alright," Ruby said, "So what should we do?"

"Heh…I don't really know," Qrow replied, "Ozpin's put a lot of faith in the headmasters, like I said…the schools are an important part of stopping Salem."

"And we can clearly put trust in Ozpins judgement, can't we?" Aedan said sarcastically as he got to his feet, "Go to sleep, lads and lasses…We'll talk in the morning."

"Agreed." Qrow said as he got up as well.

"Uncle Qrow," Ruby's voice made both men stop, "This is a lot to take in, and I'm willing to do whatever it takes to help because I trust you…but why couldn't you trust me? Why couldn't you just travel with us and just…just…"

"Look, this has nothing to do with trust, it's…a long story." Qrow answered.

"Seriously?" Nora's voice made the group look at her, "Now you're tired of telling stories?"

"Did you know the crows are the sign of bad luck?" The huntsman asked.

"Yeah…their also a sign of a hunter who kills hunters…what's your point?" Micca asked, Qrow almost grinned as he started poking the fire.

"Some people can absorb electricity, some people can burst into rose petals, mine isn't like that," He said, "Some are just born unlucky, I bring misfortune…guess you could say I'm a bad luck charm, runs in the family."

"Well…you are just a real bundle of help…aren't you?" Jaune asked sarcastically.

"Yeah…" Qrow said as he started walking off.

"Wait up," Aedan said as he got to his feet, "We'll take the first watch, let you kids get some rest."

As the pair walked away, Qrow broke the silence.

"So…you got something to say?" The tired man asked.

"Aye…I have many things to say," Aedan growled, "Mainly regarding you acting like what you did with Pyrrha wasn't wrong."

"She had a choice and she made…" Qrow started before Aedan cut him off.

"That's not the problem!" Aedan yelled, grabbing Qrow by the jacket, "When someone becomes headmaster, their duty is to protect their students! Not throw them into a war they know nothing about!"

Aedan let Qrow go, his rage burning.

"He killed her, Qrow," Aedan growled as he started pacing, "He might not have pulled the trigger, but he damn well is responsible."

"That's not fair Aedan," The hunter said, "Ozpin couldn't have known…"

"Known what? That he was putting her in danger? An eighteen year old girl who had never been in a real fight and who had just started to see what life could offer," Aedan snarled, "Oh yes, let's throw her into this damn secret war! That doesn't bother you?!"

"Aedan," Qrow said calmly, "She was a champion, the top of her class, she was the best option we had."

"Stop defending him," Aedan yelled, "What does it take to make you give a damn? A girl is dead because of him, a girl who had a full life ahead of her and he is responsible for her death! Why do you keep looking past that?"

"Ozpin is our friend," The hunter replied back, raising his voice, "He's done many things, and he's earned both of our trusts, Aedan. He's done a lot of things, but he was always on our side."

Aedan stopped and looked at Qrow, before roaring and punching the hunters face. Qrow, not expecting violence, fell to the ground.

"He killed her Qrow! He killed her, you son of a bitch," Aedan screamed, "He killed her and you don't care, let me ask you this…would you even be here if it was just Jaune here?"

"What are you talking about?" Qrow asked.

"I think the only reason you'd ever give a damn is when Ruby or Yang is in trouble," The bartender growled, "If they had been up there? You'd demand Ozpins head, if he had offered them the choice, you would have said no."

"What are you saying?" The hunter asked, his eyes narrowing.

"That you only give a damn when someone you care about is in danger!" Aedan yelled, "That if it wasn't for Ruby, you wouldn't have gone after Jaune and his friends, they'd be dead and you'd be in Patch drinking your ass to sleep because you only give a damn about her! That's all you ever cared about, you never cared about anyone besides your family…well you know what? Ozpin killed the people I cared about ten years ago and I thought I had a chance to get some semblance of them back…then Ozpin stripped them away from me again…turning children into soldiers."

"Aedan…" Qrow started, finally grasping where this hatred was coming from.

"Shut up," The bartender said, "You can go to hell and rot with Ozpin for all I care, you both deserve it."

Qrow watched as Aedan stormed off, a sigh coming through his lips. Yeah…Aedan might be wrong in some regards…but even he couldn't deny that Aedan had a few points.

 **In Menagerie…**

"We saw a White Fang wearing a mask," Sun jumped in, pointing at Azul, "Tell her!"

"We did," Azul started, before he suddenly stopped, "We're being watched."

The trio turned to see a figure running off.

"A ninja?!" Sun yelled.

"A spy…" Blake growled out.

"Why would?" Sun started before Blake jumped off the balcony.

"What's going on?" Kali yelled as she came running up the stairs, both Sun and Azul turning around.

"White Fang is evil, totally called it, and I'm bringing your daughter back!" The monkey faunas yelled as he started jumping as well.

"Ms. Belladonna…where is my guitar case?" Azul asked, quite calmly given the situation.

 **A bright morning in Mistral…**

Aedan ran over to Qrows collapsed form, the purple poison seeping out of it.

"No…"


	21. Richard Qoute: Don't Be Like Rick

Yang and Tai spared on the sunny day, both giving it their all. Zwei and Richard stood on the sidelines, the dog panting as he watched while Richard held a journal in his hands and wrote in it. Tai attempted to land a kick, only for Yang to punch him with her new hand.

"That thing packs a punch!" Tai responded as he slid to a halt, his breathing heavy.

"We've been at this for weeks," Yang said as she stretched out, "I get it, you want to see if I can still fight. I think I'm doing just fine."

The teenage girl slammed her fist together, Richard looked up from his journal with a smile.

"You're close." Yang's father said as he started walking around.

"Oh really?" The buxom blonde asked.

"You're still off balance." Tai responded, getting a scoff from Yang.

"What? No I'm not!" The girl responded before she looked at her new arm, "Honestly, I'm kind of surprised, I thought it would be this huge weight, but it feels…natural. They did a great job with this thing."

Yang yelped as Tai suddenly performed a series of blows, Yang did her best to counter. Tai managed to grab her arm and pull it into a hold.

"I wasn't talking about your actual balance," Tai said, before sweeping her legs out from under her, "Although that could use some work too."

He walked over to Zwei and Richard, who handed him a towel. Yang took a deep breath before she asked her question.

"Meaning?" The teen asked, her voice filled with sarcasm.

"I saw your tournament fights, in the festival." Tai said as he wiped his face.

"Let me guess… 'I was sloppy." Yang said, imitating a dad voice.

"No, you were predictable…and stubborn, and maybe a little bone headed," Tai said with a grin, Yang scoffed as she got to her knees, "Do you know that you used your semblance to win every fight after the qualifiers?"

"So what?" Yang said as she whirled around into a sitting position, "How is me using my semblance any different than if somebody else uses theirs?"

"Because not everyone else's is basically a temper tantrum." Tai said as he started walking.

"And because not everyone's requires taking hits to your Aura." Richard interjected as he got to his feet.

"I'm serious, you can take hits and hit back twice as hard," Tai said as he kneeled down, "It's great if you're in a pinch but what if you miss? What happens if their stronger? What then? All you did is get weak and tired."

"What he means to say is that you are a massively emotional person," Richard said as he walked over, "Usually, it's good, you wear your heart on your sleeve and you shine like the sun, but in a fight? Fear and anger aren't necessarily the best things."

"What he means is that you need to think before you act," Tai said as he got to his feet as well, "You're semblance is good, but don't rely on it."

"Don't pull a Rick though," The mustached teen said with a grin, earning a look from Yang, "Idiot never used his semblance during the tournament."

"Wait, what?" Yang said as she jumped to her feet, "What do you mean?"

"Let me ask you this: What is Rick's semblance?" Richard said with an evil grin.

"It's…uh…the ability to take a lot of punishment? Like Teddy?" Yang guessed, realizing for the first time that she didn't know.

"Nope, bastard can see holes on someone's defense," The monk said as he looked at Yang, "Great…if he wasn't like you."

"What's that supposed to mean?" The buxom blonde asked, debating on if she should be insulted or not.

"He's a doer, prefers to fight without thinking," Richard replied, "Keeps his opponents on edge, hell…sometimes even he can't predict his own movements, if he used his semblance, he'd have to slow down and think for once in his life."

"That…makes way too much sense," Yang said with a laugh, "He was always stubborn."

"Like you," Tai said, "You got that from your mother."

"Oh…so now we can talk about her?" Yang said accusingly.

"Well, as I have been informed," Tai said as he gently touched the tree near him, "You're an adult now."

"Well…sorry I remind you of her." The blonde girl said as her head fell.

"Don't be," Tai responded, "Raven was so great in so many ways."

"If half the stories that Aedan told me before he left are true? That's putting it mildly…and civilly." Richard muttered.

"I see so much of her in you…but I'm glad I don't see all of her in you." Tai said, ignoring Richard.

"Why?" Yang asked, earning a sigh from Tai.

"Your mother was…a complicated woman," Tai started, "Like everyone, she had her faults, and those faults tore our team and family apart. You both act like the easiest way to deal with a problem is through it, but if you took a second to look…then maybe you'd see that there is another path…around it."

"Or you'd see that the easier path is off to the side," Richard said with a grin, "That's something even Rick was able to figure out…after some head punching."

"You know, Richard…" Yang said as she looked over him, "You've been talking a lot, but you haven't been fighting at all…still think you can keep up?"

"Is that a challenge?" Richard said as he reached behind his back, pulling long rod, "Because I'm more than willing to oblige."

Yang smiled and readied herself, Richard returned the smile as a single blade extended from his rod. The brawler looked at him in confusion.

"What about your twin blade?" She asked.

"No need for it yet," The monk responded, "I'm still working on that side of things."

Yang didn't understand, but didn't have time to think as Richard charged in for combat. She dodged his swig, the brawler moved under it but the monk dodged to the side of the swing. He swung the flat of his weapon into her back, sending her forward. He turned his head with a smile, Yang growled as she readied herself. The brawler launched herself at him, only for him do jump above and land and get a hit onto her back leg.

Yang growled again, almost launching herself into combat again, only to stop herself. She remembered, don't be like Rick…or be like him…whatever, just use your head. The brawler stepped back, readying herself. She had to think, what was Richards advantage? She could match his speed and she was definitely stronger…but his weapon allowed him to be beyond her reach.

His weapon was a problem…that's when she had an idea, it was a crazy idea, one that Rick would be proud of. She watched as Richard readied himself, before rushing in. Richard smiled as he stabbed forward, Yang grinned as she dodged to the right, and grabbed the blade with her new arm. Richard's eye's widened as the brawler swung him around and threw him into the dirt, the monk landed with a laugh.

"Now that's using your daft head!" He laughed out as he got to his feet, "Anyway…dinner is on me tonight!"

"What?" Yang asked.

"I made a bet with him that if you could take him down, he'd cook those steaks that I bought." Tai said with a laugh.

"Get ready," The monk said as he started for the house, "I'm going to probably kill your taste buds."

 **In Atlas…**

Alex watched as Weiss stabbed her blade into the ground, materializing the hilt of a huge sword.

"Hello, sister." Whitley's voice sounded like nails on a chalkboard to both Weiss and Alex, she breathed out and the sword dematerialized.

"Leave…" Weiss ordered.

"My…how hurtful." Whitely said as he dusted himself off, "Here I am about to offer you a favor…I wanted to see if I could pick you up anything since, you know…you're stuck here."

"Are you jealous? IS that it?" Weiss asked, getting a scoff from her brother.

"What does that mean?" The boy asked, barely giving her the time of day.

"Is that why you hate me? Are you jealous of my abilities? Of Winters?" She asked, her voice getting accusing."

"No…not really," Whitley replied, "Honestly…I find it barbaric…it's beneath people like me, like father, what can a single huntsman do what an army can? That's why we have one, even if it is run by a fool."

"Oh, is that right?" Alex said as he got up from his chair and walked over, his cane echoing in the room, "There is one thing to remember about barbarians…we have a habit of taking things from those who are lazy enough to forget the ways of war…even if they have armies."

"Fine…fine…I've got better things to do…" Whitley could pick up on the threat, "I'll leave…"

"Good," Alex replied with a look at Weiss and a smile, "But remember…us two are barbarians…remember the battle of the Red Pass…where one of us…defeated one of you."

Whitley turned around, only to have the door closed on his face. Weiss growled as she returned to her summoning, Alex returning to his chair. He watched as she stabbed her blade again, the runes spinning quicker and quicker. The fox couldn't contain his excitement as he saw the bright flash of light.

"YEAH BABY!" He yelled as the ground shook and the nearby window shattered, Alex looked up at the knight.

"Ms. Schnee!" Klein yelled as he burst into the room, "Are you all right?"

"Yes…Klein…we need a favor." Weiss asked as she looked out her new window design.

 **In Menagerie…**

Azul followed the trio throughout the woods, lugging his guitar case with him. He cursed that it was so awkward, not suited for this kind of maneuvering at all. He groaned as he jumped through the trees, hoping that they would hit city fall soon enough…

 **In the city…**

Jesse stood on the balcony of his room shirtless, showing his chest hair and many scars. He hated the heat here, even where he was born this was pushing it. He yawned, only to stop as he saw four people jumping across the rooftops. He groaned as he recognized three of them.

"Theo, trouble," He said out loud, hearing a sword being unsheathed and holding his hand up to catch the gun, "You know what to do, if someone else is out here, make sure they don't kill my ass."

He heard a grunt before he jumped off the roof, landing on the rooftop where they trio had cornered their assailant. They all jumped as the bounty hunter landed, his pistol pointed at the girl.

"OK, who's the ninja?" He asked, before the girls mask fell off.

"Ilia…" Blake muttered, earning a cry from Sun that distracted Jesse.

"You know her? She doesn't even look like a…" The monkeys cry was cut out by their opponent suddenly whipping into his shoulder.

"Shit!" Jesse yelled as he readjusted his aim at the girl, who pointed her weapon at Blake.

"Give it to me." She ordered, her voice a growl.

"No…" Blake replied.

"…You shouldn't have come back." The girl said, her voice sorrowful. Jesse's hand drifted slightly a bit…why the hell was she…He didn't have time to finish that thought when the faunas suddenly swiped her weapon at the ground, creating a dust cloud.

"Mierda!" Azul yelled as he turned around and ran towards the downed body of Sun.

"Jesse!" Theodora's voice shocked the man out of his stupor, "What happened?"

"White Fang spy," He replied as he walked over to Suns body, "Got him pretty bad."

"Can you track the spy?" Theo asked, noting that Sun had two others with him.

"No…damn chameleon faunas," The bounty hunter said as he leaned over Sun, "Impossible to track at night."

"Let's get him somewhere safe then…" Theodora said, leaning over, her tone shifting to a softer one.

 **In Mistral…**

"Hold on lad…" Aedan whispered as he walked alongside of the stretcher, "Hold on you bastard…I'm not letting that be the last thing I said."

"We're not going to find anything!" Ren yelled at the group, earning a look from the samurai. He knew those eyes…the eyes of loss.

"Ren," Rick growled, "I get that you have some baggage but I'm starting to get really…"

"We can split up," Nora said before Rick could get his fist to punching range, "Ren and I can cut through the mountains while you and Qrow go through the village."

"No…we're supposed to stick together, we keep each other safe." Jaune said, Aedan knew that tone as well. He looked at Qrow one last time and sighed.

"I'll go with them," Aedan replied suddenly, earning the groups attention, "We'll be safe, I know the way through the mountain. We'll get a better view from up there, I know you lads and lass's don't want to separate…but it's the best chance we have."

"He's right," Micca said, "We've got to…"

"I'll see you on the other side…" Aedan whispered as he put his hand on Qrow's chest, "If you die? I'm kicking your ass."


	22. Memories of a Snake

"Wonder why Ren didn't want to come here…" Rick asked as he and Micca trailed behind Ruby and Jaune as they entered the town.

"Can't you tell?" Micca replied as they continued forward, "As you said, he's got some baggage…probably from around here."

"Oh…well…guess that solves that mystery," The psycho said with a glance around, "Nora did say that their parents were…"

"I know," The snake said as she put a hand on Rick's shoulder, "You don't have to say it."

"Yeah…" Rick muttered as he and Micca kept walking, the snake faunas suddenly pausing as she looked at what appeared to be the remains of a stall. She walked over to it, looking over the wood. The snake took a deep breath as those memories came flooding back.

 **Nine years ago…**

"Micca?" The older woman's voice made the 12 year old girl turn around, she looked up at her mother. The woman was the spitting image of what Micca would look like when she was older, albeit with a larger chest size and a more defined, muscular figure, "Where's Wun?"

The young snake faunas looked around the busy marketplace, the cool breeze of Mistral blowing through her hair.

"That little girl is always getting into trouble," The woman said with a sigh, "Micca, dear, would you find her and meet me at the Noh stall?"

"Yes mom." Micca said as she turned around and take off into the crowd, the older woman's eyes following her as she ran. A chuckle came to her lips, how she missed those innocent days of yore. Micca slipped through the crowd, most of them ignoring the little girl in a mango colored kimono. She ran past an alleyway, only to stop and turn to se Wun running down it.

The younger girl was wearing a similar dress to Micca, only hers was a copper color. She stopped in front of Micca, bending down and huffing.

"What happened?" Micca asked as she grabbed the smaller girl's shoulders.

"Pushed Jack into a puddle, he and his brother are chasing me." The younger girl said with a grin, only to stiffen up a she heard voices behind her. She looked at Micca, who smiled and nodded as they both turned and started running.

The pair ran through the crowd, ignoring the various complaints as they did. The rounded a corner to discover a stall was in their way, the pair locked eyes and grinned as they ran full speed towards the stall, jumping over the stall and startling the owner.

"What in the name of…" The man yelled as the pair landed, grabbing each other to steady themselves.

"Get back here!" A young voice rang out, prompting the pair too keep running. They laughed as the kept moving, rounding another corner and running down an alley…only to discover that it was a dead end. The pair looked at each other before turning to face their aggressors…who were all kids around their age. The lead one stepped up, his clothes covered in mud.

He panted as he looked at the pair, a grin on his young face.

"End of the line," He said in an attempt to be intimidating, only to get a laugh from the pair, "…what?"

Micca pointed at his feet, the boy looking down to see that his shoes had fallen off…revealing his rabbit socks. Jack's head suddenly grew red at the rest of his gangs laughing, he turned around in a huff to silence them…only to slip and fall flat on his back. The entire alley filled with the laughter of children as the boy got to his feet, Micca and Wun walked over and helped him as well.

"Jack! What are you doing down there?" A woman's voice filled the air, the gang all turned to see a woman in a large, yellow dress coming down the alley.

"Crap, it's the feds!" One of the boy yells as they started running, Micca and Wun following.

"My lord, Jack! What ever happened to you? You're dirtier than those faunas rubbish you run around with!" The woman yelled as she got closer to the boy, who visibly shrunk back, "I told you once and I'll tell you again, I don't approve of you hanging out with those two girls."

"But…" The boy began, only to be cut off.

"They are nothing but trouble, especially that Micca one…a child born out of wedlock is not one to be around." The woman went on, though Micca only heard the first part as her and Wun took off towards the Noh shop. They arrived to find a man sitting outside of the shop, he was a large man, his black hair shining in the sun. His face was covered with a trimmed beard, but the most defining feature was his legs. They were horse legs, from the waist down, he was an equine.

The man's head came up as the pair approached, a smile forming on his face.

"Micca and Wun! Here for your mother I see," he said as he got to his feet with the assistance of a cane, "She's right inside, and should be out in a moment."

As if on cue, Micca's mother walked out of the building, her eyes widening as she saw the old man.

"Dirk, I didn't expect to see you here." She said as she stepped forward.

"I figured as much," The man said ash got to his feet with the assistance of a cane, "Anyway it's good to see you Orenji."

"Would I be right in assuming that you're here for the White Fang?" The woman replied, her eyes narrowing.

"Not in the slightest," Dirk said as he walked over and whispered into the woman's ear, before turning to talk to the girls, "Micca, Wun, be sure to say hi to me at least once before I leave."

"Will do Mr. Dirk!" Wun said with a bow, Micca followed suit. The man chuckled before he turned to Orenji.

"Remember what I said, you know why I'm concerned." The old man said in a low tone before he walked away, his cane echoing as he did.

"Mom…what's going on?" Micca asked, getting a smile from her mother.

"Nothing dear, just some old family business that I need to be thinking about, Mr. Dirk reminded me about it." The woman said, her voice strained as she gestured for her children to follow. The group arrived at their house, a small house on the corner of a nearby street. Micca and Wun ran upstairs while their mother started the stove for dinner, she grabbed a pan and started chopping up some meat. Orenji could hear the two girls running upstairs as well as the water running as Wun started the shower.

Soon, the meat was in the pan and sizzling as Orenji continued to pick out some vegetables for the meal, she checked the meat before she started cutting up said vegetables. She brought the knife up and down, making quick work of the vegetables. Orenji was suddenly startled by a sound to her right, she whirled around to see a bird flying away. The woman sighed as she turned to her now sizzling meat, rubbing her eyes in the process.

"Damn Dirk, making me jumpy." She whispered as she heard footsteps coming down the stairs, Orenji turned to regard Micca.

"Mom, should I set the table?" The girl asked, getting a suspicious look from her mother.

"Sure…and after you're done, we'll discuss what you did today that would make me angry." Micca's mother said with an evil grin, the young girl eyes snapped towards the ground as she started setting the table. Orenji almost laughed, of course Micca knew that she would figure that something had gone amiss, so the girl had tried to butter her up before she talked.

Wun soon came down and the meal began with Micca and Wun talking about the chase, Orenji laughed as they told her the story. The woman used her fork to skewer the meat into her mouth as the two went on, the girls exaggerating and underplaying it as children are won't to do. Soon, the meal was over and the group was washing the dishes.

"Hey, mom," Wun asked, "Are we still going to the theater tomorrow?"

"Yes we are," Orenji responded, "Already bought our tickets."

"We're seeing the _Red Man and Ronin,_ right?" Micca asked as she put the plates up.

"Yes, we are, the final part of the story." The mother responded, earning a giggle from the two girls.

"I hope the Ronin wins, the red man killed the woman he loved!" Wun said as she started towards the stairs.

"I hope that we get to see more of that twin blade in action!" Micca responded as the pair went up the stairs, "It was so cool!"

Micca and Wun entered their room, a simple one room with two mats, and tried to sleep. Wun fell asleep almost as soon as she hit the mat, but Micca stared at the ceiling a bit. The girl was counting Ursa when she heard some movement downstairs, the girl got to her feet in concern. She slowly moved her way down the stairs, stopping when she saw her mother looking over a few open books.

"Micca? Wun?" Orenji said as she turned to face whatever daughter had come down said stairs, "Micca…why are you still awake?"

"I heard you moving around," The girl said as she came the rest of the way down said steps, "What are you doing?"

"Nothing sweaty," Orenji responded as she stepped in between Micca and the books, "Go back to sleep."

"Mother…what did you buy at the mask store?" The young girl asked, getting an odd look from her mother.

"Well…this," Orenji said as she moved, doing her best to keep an eye on her daughter as she did. She moved over to her package, she took her eyes off of Micca for a second as she pulled out the mask. It was a Noh mask of a man with white hair and a beard, "I got it for tomorrow, so we could get the Ronin's autograph."

"Oh…cool," Micca said before she yawned, "I'm going back to bed, see you tomorrow."

"See you, love you!" Orenji said before turning to her books, had she looked closer, though, she would have noticed that one was missing…

Micca moved into her room, grabbing her blanket and throwing it over her head. A flashlight soon turned on as well, illuminating the young girl. Micca looked at the spot that had been bookmarked, she might have been young, but she could read.

"The Blood Hunter…" She whispered out as the read the title of the story and glancing at the picture that was alongside it. It portrayed a man in a long leather coat, boots, and wide brimmed hat, his face covered by a leather mask except for his yellow eyes. His hands bore a blunderbuss and a large, cleaver like weapon. He was surrounded by a strange mist and dead monster corpses, his weapon dripping with the fresh blood of the kills.

Micca began to read: _A long time ago, there was a Hunter whose name was lost to time, he was a grand hunter, one that was almost unmatched in skill and cunning. He was a man who cared for the people, purging Grimm and evil men alike to protect the innocent. One day, he received word of a monster that was not Grimm or ma, but something far darker. Many Hunters and Huntresses had lost their lives fighting this beast, the survivors had mostly gone mad._

 _The Hunter found one of survivors, a young girl whose father had died fighting the beast. Her older sister and mother had died from the beast as well, her mother torn apart and her sister leapt from a tower after they had been rescued. The girl could say very little, for she had only seen her family destroyed. She gave him a music box as he left, the Hunter feeling her scaly hand on his own callused one, only then realizing that she was a faunas. The Hunter heard her tale and, his anger ignited, he continued his search for the beast._

 _Eventually, after years of searching, he found the beast, the locals claimed they could hear the fight from a nearby village. Soon, a poisonous miasma seeped from the grove that the Hunter fought the beast. The Hunter claimed victory, after a long and brutal fight, finally avenging the beast's victims. After that, however, the Hunter returned a different man, his weapon forever dripped with blood. His eyes now yellow, the man reeked of blood and death wherever he want, but his jaw always remained covered. He never spoke, his eyes warned people away if they approached…but he still kept his vigil._

 _He would hunt down Grimm whenever he could, but he would always disappear afterwards, never taking reward. One day, though, news approached that the once vibrant young girl was dying from a disease of the blood, the Hunter reappeared at the girls side. The doctors and nurses all ran away as he approached, for they recognized the smell of the blood. It was the same smell as the girl's, he entered the room alone and a scream was heard._

 _The bravest of doctors and nurses burst into the room, only to discover the girl unharmed and seemingly cured…but nearby was a corpse…the corpse of a man with the eyes of madness staring down something as it died. The corpse melted into a puddle of blood when the doctors tried to move it, leaving behind a small music box that played when the blood ran over it._

 _The girl discovered that she was cured of her disease and walked out of the hospital to eventually marry and have a family, but it was said that after she died, a mysterious man was at her funeral. A man who had yellow eyes and reeked of diseased blood, he supposedly disappeared after that but some still say that he stays close to the bloodline, keeping the little girl safe._

 _The tale does not end there, however, for one day the miasma cleared and the village approached the corpse of the monster. It was a twisted thing, even if the only thing that remained was bone. The monster was so twisted that the party who found it couldn't even tell if it had been natural or an abomination created by a twisted god to destroy them. The party sent a few back to warn the village to stay away, but before those few could return, a storm arrived._

 _Amid the cracks of lightning and thunder, some swore that they could hear screams, shouts for help, and mad laughter. The men lead another party to the grove, once barren, but now covered with white flowers. The skeleton had been crushed and nearby tools where chipped and broken…but they also told of the party. The tools were stained with blood and bone, but the second party found no bodies among the bone white flowers._

 _They say that every year, on the anniversary, that the flowers turn red and the laughter of the first party can still be heard as they crushed the skeleton…but they also say, more mysteriously, that a strange music can be heard over all the carnage. A music that sounds like it came from a small, musical box._

Micca was jerked out of her stupor by a loud sound from downstairs, followed by yelling. The young faunas quickly got to her feet and ran down to see that three men were on the floor, two holding down her mother.

"Tell us where the money is and we'll let you go." One of them said as he pressed a knife to the woman's throat.

"I keep telling you, we're not what you're looking for!" Orenji objected, only to get slapped when she did.

"Come on! We've seen the amount you spend on a daily basis, you faunas whore." The man continued, before a hand tapped his shoulder.

"We got some company." The guy said as he gestured with his pistol at Micca, who was frozen in fear. The leader groaned as he saw the girl.

"Great…now we got a witness," He said as he looked at the man with a gun, "Deal with her…don't be too concerned about noise. These bums wouldn't call the police if it was their own families."

"Got it," The thug said as he raised his gun, "Sorry kid."

"Wait, she's just a child!" Orenji begged, "Are you so despicable to murder a young girl?"

"Lady…I've dealt worse to young girls," The man said with a grin, earning a look from the third man, "What are you looking at?"

"Man…that's screwed up." The third man said, shivering as he talked.

"Whatever, shoot her?" The lead man yelled, the man with the gun nodded as he suddenly fired. Micca's eyes went wide as she felt the bullet pierce her chest, the young girl's eyes snapping towards the ceiling as she fell down.

"Dude what the ever loving hell?" The third man yelled, "You just shot a kid!"

"Yeah? So what?" The gunman asked, earning a sound of shock.

"You…just…shot…a…little…girl!" The third man yelled, spacing the words out as if talking to a child.

"Dust," The leader said as he looked at the girl, "She's still breathing, finish her off!"

Micca had managed to crawl down the stairs, looking around the destroyed kitchen, she spotted a knife. The pair kept arguing as she struggled towards the knife, her had closing around the blade as she got close enough. That's when she felt a boot on her back, the gunman had gotten closer.

"Nothing personal…" The man said, only for Micca to scream as she jammed the knife into his leg, "Gash! You stupid bitch!"

The man leveled his pistol at the girl…only to scream as his hand fell off his body. Micca's eyes widened as she saw the tall man now standing in front of her, his head turned to face her, its yellow eyes glowing in the moonlight before turning back to the now screaming man. Micca stared at him one last time before passing out.

 **A few hours later…**

Micca woke with a start to the droning of a hospital monitor, her pulse steady. She looked around, her eyes settling on the nearby window. It was still night outside, so she figured she hadn't been here for that long. The young girl shifted her head back to the pillow, before noticing a figure to her right. Micca's pulse jumped as the man with yellow eyes stepped out of the shadows, her breathing picking up rapidly.

"Micca…it's OK," Orenji's voice made Micca's head snap towards it, her mother putting her hand on her daughter, "It's OK…you're safe now."

"Mom…what's going on? Who's that?" Micca said breathlessly, her eyes going over to the man.

"It's…an old friend of the family," Orenji said with a sigh, "Micca…I don't have much time, I have to go somewhere…you won't see me for a long time."

"But why?" Micca asked as she tried to lean up.

"I can't tell you that," The mother said as she wiped tears from her eyes, "Just…promise me something…protect Wun…can you do that for me?"

"…Yes mommy," Micca said, her voice dropping low, "Where are you going?"

"…A place where you will be safe." Orenji whispered as she got up and nodded at the man, who nodded back and held out his hand towards the little girl, who drifted off into sleep once more. She awoke to the morning sun to the voices of two women outside of her room.

"You know very well I can't take them with me Uni!" An older woman's voice said that held some authority.

"Jade, they're your sisters!" The voice of Uni broke out, "They need our help!"

"If I take them then they'll be targeted!" Jade yelled back, "I've already had to deal with two psychopathic killers, I don't need them coming after my little sisters!"

"Dust…" Uni groaned as she peeked through the door, only to reel back as she saw that Micca was awake. She burst into the room as she recovered, running over and grabbing Micca in a bear hug, which for her wasn't an exaggeration. Uni was huge, about as big as an Ursa, and her crushing grip was cutting off Micca's air flow.

"Uni…can't…breath!" The young girl gasped out, prompting the older faunas to let her go.

"Sorry…I'm just so happy that you're ok!" Uni said as she sat down in a nearby chair.

"I agree," Jade's voice prompted Micca to regard her, she was a tall woman wearing Atlas colors. Her mango colored hair shined in the sunlight as well as her glasses, her body wasn't as big as Uni's, but it what it lacked in muscle it made up for in breast size, many men would have fallen head over heels over her in one glance, "I was quite concerned."

"Jade…" Micca said as she started tearing up, the older sister ran over the hug her as well.

"It's OK…I'm here now…" The Atlas soldier said as she held the crying girl in her arms.

"Where will me and Wun go?" Micca whispered, "I heard you guys arguing."

"We're still working on that…" Uni sighed, "We'll figure it out, don't worry."

"Uni…how is…" Jade started asking before Uni held up her hand.

"She isn't doing well, Atlas isn't exactly the best place for her…it's hard enough to pay the bills with just her…" The older sister said with a slight amount of hopelessness.

"Well…it appears that you both aren't in a place to be raising a family." A voice shocked the trio out of their stupor, their eyes fell upon the new entrant.

"Dirk!" Micca said with a smile as the old man came hobbling in, he smiled as he put a hand on her head.

"Sisters…we all know that you are not capable of raising these two girls," Dirk said with a sigh, "So…I'll propose a solution…there was a reason why your mother named me as a godfather."

"Dirk…are you sure?" Jade asked, her voice strained.

"I am," Dirk replied, "Jade, you're part of the Joint Kingdom Research Coalition, people want what you know and you, Uni, you're in the middle of training, are working hard enough to support you and Lucy, you can't handle two more mouths to feed. I have the means to support them both, on top of that, I am their godfather."

"That is a fair point," Jade said with a sigh before turning to Micca, "Are you OK with this?"

"…I am, you're probably going to have to talk to Wun about it," Micca said, "She's always been a rebel."

 **In the present…**

"Hey, Micca," Rick's voice jolted the faunas out of her thoughts, "You OK? Looked like you were having a flash back."

"Hm? Sorry…" Micca said as she looked around to see Jaune and Ruby still carrying Qrow, "How are we doing?"

"Well, Qrow's still dying, Ruby and Jaune are exhausted, I'm currently on edge, the voices are getting nervous…overall?" Rick said as she gestured, "We're not in good shape…not at all."

"Oh…" The snake responded, her voice low.

"That's not all…" Rick said, lowering his tone, "I've been looking around…there's nothing here, not a damn thing. Place has been picked clean or the stuff is expired beyond any date I'm willing to risk."

"So that means that we came this way for nothing?" Micca asked, getting sigh from Rick.

"Maybe…but don't tell Ruby that…right now we've got to hope that Nora, Ren, and Aedan find some help…got to protect our little sister, right?" The psychopath said as he turned around, Micca could tell by his posture that he was close to breaking down as well. She knew that Rick, for all his strength, was still a teenage boy growing up in a world gone mad.

The snake sighed once more, she remembered when she came at a crossroad like that herself…and the day she betrayed one of the people who cared about her the most…

 **Six years ago…**

Micca swung her ax around in a pattern before combining it into another swing, her movement was quick and smooth, fast and strong. Her movements mimicked the moves of her faunas trait, in and out like a flash.

"Time!" Dirks voice cut her off as the old man walked forward with his cane, "10 seconds…not bad, now if only you had a sparring partner…speaking of partners, where is Wun? She's missed the last three sparring days."

"You know very well where she's at." Micca said as she wiped off her brow.

"Of course I do," The man grumbled, "And don't think I don't know about your escapades into the gatherings."

"I don't understand why you're so adamant about us not joining them," Micca said as she sat at a nearby table, "You were a founder of it, after all."

"Humph, that was before it became a gilded group," Dirk said as he walked to a nearby fridge, pulling out two water bottles, "Now they cry for blood, eye for an eye."

"If you're so against violence, then why are you teaching me and Wun how to fight?" Micca asked, a bit curious to his reply.

"I'm teaching you how to defend yourself, not how to kill those who don't agree with you," The old man growled, "I saw enough bloodshed in the revolution, I know what it looks like in the end. Doesn't matter who wins, everyone's a corpse when they die."

Micca opened her mouth but was cut off by a knocking at the door, Dirk grumbled as he got to his feet and walked over. He opened the door to reveal a group of faunas, all looking around nervously.

"What do you want?" The man responded.

"Sir…the high leader has stepped down!" One of the men blurted out, Dirk paused before turning to Micca.

"Micca, one more drill for the night," The man said, "Do the serpentine in the back."

"Yes, sensei," Micca said with a bow before she took off. The snake, however, didn't go to the back, she instead jumped to the rafters of the building. It was an old warehouse that Dirk had acquired, so the ceiling was just high enough to hear the conversation.

"You know what this means!" One of the men yelled, "They will order your death!"

"The whispers of your betrayal are already surfacing," One of the other men jumped in, "They might have already sent people to deal with you as we speak!"

"They can try," Dirk said calmly as he held up his hand, "I understand your reservations, but I'll be fine. Now, you are the ones who should be concerned, get your loved ones and leave."

The men looked at the old faunas and nodded before they turned to leave, Dirk got up and walked a bit of a ways away before stopping.

"I know you're up there," The horse said as he looked up, "I assume you heard everything."

"Yes," Micca said as she jumped down, "Would they do that? I mean, send men to kill you?"

"At one point in my life," Dirk responded as he continued to hobble with his cane, "I would have said no…but now is a different story."

"Master…if they do…what…what do we do?" The snake asked, her voice low and scared.

"Do what you decide to do," The old man responded as he stopped walking, sitting down at a table, "That's all we can do…we make our choices and stand by them, how you do it is up to you."

"Dirk…Wun is already in with the White Fang," The snake said as she sat down near him, "What if she sides with them?"

"Will you support your sister or support your master?" Dirk said with a dark chuckle, "That…is a question you will have to answer in the coming moments…child, I have a gun upstairs, a pistol in my desk. Retrieve it…they are here."

Micca's eyes snapped up, her hands suddenly shaking.

"Go…now!" Dirk ordered, Micca jumping at the harshness of his voice. The snake faunas jumping to her feet and running.

Dirk didn't flinch as the doors burst open, White Fang members wearing those ridiculous Grimm mask running in. Each one held a weapon, mostly pistols, in their trembling hands. The horse turned to face the group of ten, he slowly got to his feet

"Hira Kuro," One of them yelled, "Your execution has been ordered by the high leader."

"I figured as much," Dirk said as he got to his feel, the man fiddling with his coat, "I will give you a choice here, young ones, either leave me in peace or face me in combat…trust me, the former will be much easier."

 **Insert "Unchained," Johnny Cash…**

Dirk's coat fell to the ground alongside his cane, revealing his bare hairy chest, covered in a tattoo of a line with a spiral around it, a symbol of healing. The coat also fell to reveal a set of chains on his arms, the group was taken aback by the metal being bound to the old man's flesh. However, his body didn't show any age, it was covered in hard muscle.

Dirk cracked his neck before reading himself in a fighting stance, his foot forward, his hand's open. The group looked at each other, before firing. The man ducked under the storm of lead, slamming his fist into the nearest man's stomach. The man bent over, the wind knocked out of him, before the horse slammed a fist into the back of his skull.

The man slammed into the floor but he was soon followed by another one who Dirk kicked, the hoof hitting his chin sending him flying. The old man whirled around and slammed an elbow into another member before open palming his chest, sending him flying into another member, knocking them both out.

One of the members came charging in, she screamed a way cry as she tried to use her pistol like a club, only for Dirk to grab her hand, then do a flurry of chops to the woman's body. She fell down, not able to move. The old man whirled around, punching another man into the air, following up by leaping and kicking him to the ground.

The old man heard a click of a gun being readied, a chain unfurling and wrapping around the gun. Dirk pulled the man forward before step kicking and sending the man into the wall so hard he bounced off and Dirk followed up by an elbow, sending him into the ground. The horse whirled around to see two other members pointing their guns, Dirk smiled as he whirled his chains around, knocking one of the pair's guns out of their grasp and grabbing the other one.

"Come here!" Dirk yelled as he dragged the man over, following up with an uppercut to the jaw. The other man yelped and grabbed his gun and fired, Dirk wrapping his chains around his hand and blocking the bullets.

"That's enough…" A voice sounded, Dirk's eyes fell to the source with a sigh. It was a male faunas, being followed by Wun, the poor girl looking nervous. "See…Wun, this is a man who would assault his own brethren."

"Of course you'd say that," The old man replied as he looked over the carnage, "Anything to get your skewed picture across."

"Don't listen to him," The other man replied as he pulled out a blade, a seemingly simple longsword, "He's been intent on betraying the White Fang for a long time, he wants steal the power from our new leader!"

"Do you really want to try this?" Dirk said as he readied himself.

"Traitor…" The man replied as he charged in, Dirk didn't flinch as the blade came for him, only bringing up his chained fist to bear. The blade's clashed, the horse following up by slamming his fist into the man's side. The man roared as he whirled around, slashing at the old man again. Dirk dodged the strike, before punching the man's leg, the faunas growled as he attempted to grapple Dirk, only for the horse to smoothly go around him and wrap his chains around the man's throat.

"Stop!" Micca's voice rang out, Dirk could hear her behind him. He didn't turn to regard her, just kept his eyes on Wun.

"Micca…they have assaulted our home and have attempted to kill me," The old man yelled, "Do you intend to betray me as well?"

Micca didn't reply…but the gun did, Dirk felt the bullet hit his back. The faunas yelled out in pain, letting the man go. He turned around to see the smoking barrel, however, only Micca saw the smile on his face.

"You've made choice..." He said, before swinging out his chain and sending her into the wall.

"Micca!" Wun yelled as she ran over, the man attempting to get up but falling.

"What…what did you do to me?" He yelled as Wun helped Micca up.

"Pressure points…don't worry, you'll walk again." The faunas replied as Dirk looked at the currently still standing members of the party that had assaulted him.

"Guess I'll see you around…" Dirk said, before bolting past the remaining men, shooting into the night.

 **End Music…**

"Micca…are you OK?" Wun asked, the older snake smiling.

"Yeah…I'm OK…" Micca replied before looking at the other man, "Who's he?"

"Oh, that's Juris…he's been training me." The younger sister replied with a smile.

"In what?" Micca asked, fearing the answer.

 **In the present…**

Micca shook herself out of her stupor as she walked over to see Rick kneeling over Qrow, a frown on his face. The teen got up and walked to her, doing his best to not get the attention of Jaune and Ruby.

"He's getting worse…much worse," The psychopath whispered, "If we don't get help soon, he's a goner."

Micca looked around, noting the barren land surrounding them. She shook her head, earning a grunt from Rick…he understood. Micca knew her way around venoms and poisons, but in this place she was completely useless. The teen psycho walked off towards another building, either out of hope or because he didn't want to make Ruby realize how close they were to losing her uncle.

Micca walked over to Qrow, sitting down near him. The man eyes shifted over to look at her, his hands clenching as he felt a brief spasm of pain.

"Don't move," Micca said, "Save your strength…we'll get you patched up."

"I guess you'd know something about that, wouldn't you?" Qrow whispered, a grin forming on his face before it fell, "I'm in trouble, and I've seen this stuff before…you kids need to get out of here."

"Ruby would never do that," The snake replied, "And I have no intention of leaving here without her and the rest of the gang."

"Huh…guess he was right about you…always did say you weren't the same as all…the…others…" Qrow whispered before falling asleep again. Micca didn't flinch at that comment, with how much Qrow knew…she wasn't surprised that he knew Dirk.

She almost laughed, the old man apparently hadn't given up on her during all those years. He must have heard of all the things she did, assassinations, poisoning, brawls…Dirk must have had contacts in the White Fang for a while…it wasn't a purge overnight. Micca remembered those days, her and Wun…the twin snakes of the White Fang.

However, she also remembered how she never felt completely set there…and she could remember the day that changed her mind…

 **One year ago…**

"Your targets are Rick Grimmes and Richard Necro," Juris said as he handed the girl his picture, "You've already been registered at the academy, get in, and get out."

"May I ask why these two…teenagers are on our list?" Micca asked, "Wouldn't it be more prudent to kill Misho?"

"Don't question us," The man said as he turned, "Just follow orders, besides…they're just humans, remember that."

Micca nodded as she grabbed her axe, the words that Dirk said suddenly echoed.

 _Make your choice…_ Micca couldn't figure out why that suddenly popped into her head as she headed out. Getting to the school wasn't too hard, hell…it was pretty big. The snake entered and looked around at the sight, the courtyard was filled with students, each hurrying along. The teen spotted a fountain in the middle of the courtyard, it displayed a woman holding a huge katana, a man in plate armor holding a halberd, and a wearing furs holding a small shield and sword.

She read the plaque: _The three lives, the scholar, the judge, and the barbarian. These three came together to defend when Atlas attacked Vale, they held off the legions so that others may live. We honor them here for their triumph._

"Oh look, a snake!" Micca heard a voice from behind her, she turned to see a human walking towards her with a pack of buddies. He was wearing leather and strutting like he owned the place, his hair was gelled up. Micca could smell the product as the wind blew it towards her, the snake almost choking in disgust.

"Hey…" One of the boys said as he put his arm around her, "Wanna hang out with us later tonight? Might get lucky."

"I'll pass," Micca said as she shifted her way out of his grip, "Besides…I've got initiation tonight so I'm busy."

"Where going so quickly?" Another thug said as he got in her way, Micca looked around and inwardly growled, these idiots had her surrounded, "We're just talking…"

"Yeah…talking," The leader said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of metal, Micca recognized it as a switchblade. She almost smiled, this would be easy, and considering that he had a weapon…self-defense was a great asset, "See…we weren't giving you a choice in hanging out with us…"

"Dust," A voice came out from behind them, it had a slight twang to it, almost country, "Is that anyway to treat a lady?"

The group all turned to see a teen wearing jeans and a black t-shirt boldly displaying a band called "Mega-Dust," standing behind him.

"Lady? I think you're mistaken my human friend," The leader said as he turned, "This here's an animal."

"OK…how in the hell do you know that?" The new teen said, "I sure can't see anything from here…unless you're telling me that you can smell it."

The leader's face grew red with anger, his knife blade popping out.

"Want to repeat that?" He growled as he took a step forward.

"Yeah sure…called you an animal," The teen said with a taunting grin, "One who's trying to use prejudice to make me leave so you can act like your true self."

Micca looked over at the leader…she almost laughed, she could see it now. The guy had a set of bulge on the back of his pants, he was hiding a tail. The leader stepped forward, only to step back as the teen pulled out a huge bowie knife.

"Look…where I come from, we knife fight for fun," The teen said as he held his knife blade towards the leader, "So…unless you want to fight against a bone fide knife fighter with that toothpick…I'd say back off."

The leader looked at the blades, then looked at the teen, looking for any signs he was bluffing. The teen kept smiling…the leather clad teen tapped his right hand man's shoulder.

"Let's get out of here…" He ordered, before walking away.

"Huh…and people say I'm uncivilized," The teen said as he watched the gang walk past, "Damn city rats."

"I could have handled them on my own," Micca said as she watched the gang leave, "But thanks."

"Don't mention it," The teen said before turning and offering the snake a hand, "Names Rick Grimmes, yours?"

Micca almost flinched…yeah, he looked like the picture…she missed that when he drove off those thugs. She took his hand and shook it.

"Names Micca, Micca Sol." She replied, her smile hiding her confusion. Why did he help her? Clearly he had to have done something…

"Well then," Rick said as he sheathed his blade, "You got any friends yet?"

"No…" The snake said, her tone cautious.

"Well then, how about I introduce you to a couple of mine," Rick said as he started walking away, "Got a few faunas, in case you're worried about dealing with humans."

Micca nodded, she had to get close anyway…might as well start now. The snake faunas followed the teen, unaware of what was about to happen…

 **A few hours later…**

Micca flopped down on her bed with a grin, she had found both of her targets! Richard and Rick being friends? Who'd have guessed? Granted, she hadn't dealt with them yet but this made things a whole lot easier, the faunas reached down to her scroll. Juris would want an update, she was a bit surprised to see that she had already received a message from him.

 _Be careful, just got word that one of our gatherings was hit, apparently the Axman from Vale is in the city. Stay sharp, update me when possible._ The message read, Micca replied back.

 _Both targets located, am infiltrating now. Update when process is complete._ Micca sent the message, only to be surprised when she actually got a reply, usually they kept chatter to a minimum.

 _Infiltration is not acceptable, time table is incredibly tight, deal with them ASAP and return to base._ Micca read the message with wide eyes…infiltration is not acceptable? That wasn't right…that's why they sent her, to infiltrate the school and find the pair. The faunas didn't reply back and laid her head down, sleep not taking her for a few hours more.

The faunas got up at the break of dawn, since infiltration wasn't an option, this became a mission of time. No one was up right now so she could hopefully find the two and deal with them quickly, she entered the dorm rooms that had been set up for the newcomers, groaning as she saw that Rick was with that wolf and fox faunas. Those two would hear and smell her if she tried anything, but she also caught a whiff of something.

Richards scent, an odd combination of rust and wood, met her tongue. She could feel it in the hallway, the teen must be awake right now. She smiled, this might have made her job easier. She tracked his scent to a set of stairs and followed them up, slowly opening the door to the roof. Micca looked around and saw Richard sitting on his knees…almost like he was meditating.

"I know you're there. Richard said out loud, making Micca jump, "Come…sit."

Micca growled as she walked forward, noticing that he had a desk in front of him, a small thing engraved with a strange symbol.

"What's that?" Micca said, feigning interest.

"Hm? Oh…I guess that news hasn't traveled far," Richard said, still in a state of calm, "Maybe it has…did you ever hear of the Council Massacre?"

"I have," Micca replied, "Lot of people say it was a hoax, something that the government did to stir up anger against the White Fang."

"I can assure you…It did happen," The teen replied, his fist clenching a little, "I watched it happen."

"What?" The faunas replied, her voice dropping.

"I was being trained by them…then I watched as the White Fang butchered the monks," Richard said, his fist clenching harder as he remembered, "Then some jackass start ignoring my testimony and start blabbering on about conspiracies, about how the White Fang is just misunderstood."

"So…you're a survivor?" Micca asked, her mind racing.

"Pretty much, the only one who was there who wasn't a White Fang." Richard replied.

"Oh…I'm sorry…" Micca replied as she turned around, "Excuse me…I've got something I need to check."

Richard grunted as Micca bolted down the stair, halting at the bottom. She growled, only survivor…now it made sense, no wonder they didn't want her making friends. She would have found out…but why Rick Grimmes? That made no sense! She suddenly stopped herself as her tongue flicked…fresh blood?

Micca looked around, she was still on the stairwell…so she just kept going down, and focusing more on the blood to ignore what she had just learned. The blood grew stronger as she neared the bottom…when she also gained another scent…Rick? The snake came across a door that was partly opened, she pushed it the rest of the way to reveal an armory.

Most schools had a set of spare weapons in case one of the students broke and took a while to repair, but Micca tongue lead her to a particular weapon. A simple woodcutting ax, she moved another weapon out of the way and, after pulling out a piece of cloth, picked it up. As it came into the light, she could see it…the cracked blood that was still hardening.

Why would Rick's scent be on an ax that had just been used? Micca pondered this as she set the ax down and recent the weapon, Micca stopped herself and pulled out a second scroll, one that the White Fang didn't know about. She got this one a while back to keep up on non-White Fang related events, the snake pulling up the news. The report read: _Three White Fang recruiters injured last night as a lone vigilante stormed the building where a recruitment session was occurring._

 _Early witness testimony indicates that the attacker operated very similar to the cases in Vale, where a man dubbed the Axman has been known for interrupting various criminal networks that exist outside the cities. Authorities are unsure if the perpetrator has any real links to the Axman or if it's a copycat, however, they have requested that anyone with information comes forward to help._

Micca looked around the room, yeah…she had heard about the Axman, he had been a slight nuisance in Vale. He had always been ignored because he primarily worked out of an area that was fairly large, including multiple towns. Criminals and the Fang used the towns and the routes between the towns to ferry goods, weapons, and troops to certain locations but the routes were never considered to be major contributions to the success of the Fang.

The White Fang, however, did investigate the situation…Micca looked at where the ax was…if they knew about his identity…then it would be prudent to kill him ASAP. The snake looked at the ground in shame…she knew that the situation in Vale wasn't improving…and that she wasn't too different from him. Micca shook her head suddenly, trying to clear her thoughts. She had to think on this…

 **A few weeks later…**

 _Meet me at the rendezvous point_ Micca looked over the message, it was currently raining as she had expected to receive this message at some point. She hadn't been returning the calls, hadn't been going after dead drops, and she refused to comment why the pair was still alive. Micca had done her best to get to know the pair and…she couldn't do it.

Richard was a victim of the White Fangs aggression and Rick? Rick might have been insane but he wasn't a monster, not like her. She had deluded herself into believing that she wasn't…but she knew recognized the face that would stare back at her in the mirror. Micca Sol…the assassin…the murderer. She shook her head as she walked down the alleyway, her ax over her shoulder. She got to the back, a wide section that was clearly a place for graffiti artist. Juris was waiting for her, his arms crossed.

"Why are the targets still alive?" He demanded as the teen approached. She said nothing as she heard the footsteps behind her. Micca's assassin training was still paying off, "Answer me!"

"Simple…I'm not doing it." The snake said, Juris's eyes widened.

"Not doing it?" He growled, "You're not going to do your job?"

"No…as far as I'm concerned," Micca replied, "They've done nothing wrong."

"It doesn't matter what you think," Juris growled, "You don't question me, you do as you're told, now kill them!"

"No." The snake replied.

"Are you turning your back on us? You, the Snake?" He roared as he pulled out his blade, "You are going to turn your back on your family? On Wun?"

"As much as it pains me…yes," Micca replied, "You and the rest of the Fang, can go to hell."

"Kill her!" Juris yelled, Micca whirled around, blocking the strikes that followed. She could see two men, both with blades. She heard a roaring behind her as Juris rushed in, swinging his blade. She pitched, ducking under the two and dodging his stab. Micca slammed her weapons butt into one of the fighters face, knocking him back. She followed up by swinging her ax into the other one, sending him in the wall. That's when she felt the blow hit her back, Juris had slashed her back, her aura taking the brunt of the force.

"You're outnumbered," He growled as his two thugs got up, "I've taught these two everything I've taught you, even with Dirk's training you can't take on all three of us."

"Time for a recount!" Rick's voice made the group's eyes snap towards the teen, his cleavers drawn, "Let's dance!"

 **Insert "Battle Axe," Quiet Riot…**

Rick threw one of his cleavers at one of the men, who dodged it, only for Rick to rush in and punch him. Micca snapped out of her surprise and swung at Juris, who blocked it but groaned at the force. The second man came after Rick, who ducked under a swing and slashed at his opponents gut. His momentum made him slide on the pavement, only to get kicked by the first man who had recovered.

Rick flew into the nearby alley wall, he growled as he whirled around, blocking a strike from the blade. Micca also dodged a blade, swinging her weapon at Juris's legs. The man jumped back onto the wall, before growling as he launched himself off the wall at her.

"Micca! Down!" Rick yelled, the snake duck and watched as one of Juris's men flew over her head, slamming into him.

"Rick!" Micca replied, throwing his blade back at him. Rick was currently in a choke hold by one of the men…and that man promptly had a cleaver shoved into his hand. The psychopath smiled as he felt the hold on his neck loosen, he ducked under the hand and grabbed the cleaver and ripped it out before head-butting the poor man. The man recovered and readied to slash at Rick, only for Micca to slam her weapon into him and send him flying towards the trio on the ground.

"You're a dead girl!" Juris yelled as his weapon transformed, a pistol barrel sliding out and firing. Rick pushed Micca out of the way, the bullet burying its way into his chest.

"Rick!" Micca yelled, noticing the cleaver that he had dropped, she grabbed it and chucked it…right into Juris's hand. The faunas howled as he saw his weapon fall to the ground, one of his followers grabbed him.

"Master…we need to retreat!" He yelled, Juris almost replied back but saw the blood spurting out of his arm.

"Let's go." He growled, the two men nodding and grabbing him and leaping out of the alleyway.

 **End music…**

Micca ran over to Rick as he fell, grabbing him.

"Rick…are you OK? How did you find me? What…" She started to ask before Rick grabbed her shoulder.

"I heard voices…one of them sounded like you, had to check…" He said with a grin, "As for how I feel? Like an idiot."

"You are one…" Micca whispered as she pressed on the bullet hole, "Let's get you somewhere safe…"

 **In the present…**

Micca looked at Qrows restless slumber, she knew that he must be in intense pain. That's when a piercing howl rang throughout the valley.

"Oh…that can't be good…" Rick yelled as he pulled out his chainsaw.

 **In the mountains…**

Aedan looked at the creatures den, the old huntsman walking over and grabbing some black pus and rubbing it between his fingers.

"Bloody hell…" Aedan growled as he looked at Nora and Ren, "You two…go find our friends, their gonna need help."

"What about you?" Nora asked, taking a step forward.

"I'll keep pressing forward," Aedan replied, "I'm useless in a fight right now, I'll find some help."

"We can't…" Nora started before Aedan cut her off.

"Don't argue! Go!" The old man yelled, scaring the teen. She nodded as she walked over to Ren, Aedan watched as the two departed. He looked at the path ahead, his hands clenching. He had to find help…otherwise…they were all dead.


	23. A New Beginning

Richard and Tai watched as Yang opened the door to the shed, following her as she pulled off the tarp to reveal her bike.

"I don't remember saying you were ready." Tai said as he and the monk approached.

"Oh yeah?" Yang asked, "You gonna try and stop me?"

"No…I'm still too sore after our last fight," Tai said with chuckle as he rubbed his shoulder, "I wanted a better goodbye than a letter…and I wanted to ask a question."

Yang turned to face the pair, Richard standing behind Tai.

"Where're you going?" The man asked.

"What do you mean?" The buxom blonde responded.

"Well, despite telling numerous times not too," Tai said as he walked in, "I know Qrow told you where your mothers been these days, I know how much you want to see her."

"And Ruby's in Mistral," Richard chimed in, "Need to make sure she doesn't hurt herself."

"So…where are you going?" Tai asked, Yang looked at the ground in thought before Richard jumped in.

"Give her some time to think," The mustached teen said, "We'll say goodbye later."

Tai looked at the teen and nodded before turning and leaving.

"We'll?" Yang asked, turning to face the monk.

"Yeah, I'm going with you," Richard responded, "Got the old bike all supped up and oiled."

"Why?" Yang asked, "I thought you weren't sure if you were going to keep fighting."

"Eh, still thinking about it," Richard said with a chuckle, "But I'm mainly going because I haven't punched Rick in the face in a while…feels wrong."

"…You know," Yang said with a laugh, "You're right…he's always fun to punch."

 **In Atlas…**

Alex waited at the exit of the passageway, his hands running over his canes head. Weiss was late and it wasn't like her to be late, perfectionist had that way of doing things. He jumped at a noise, jumping to his feet, his cane coming up to go across any intruders head. The fox breathed a sigh of relief as he saw it was Weiss.

"You're late." Alex responded.

"Sorry, had to attend a meeting." The heiress replied, the faunas nodded as he turned to face the exit.

"Any idea why they put the exit near a statue of the Bloody Bastard?" Alex asked as the pair started walking.

"No idea," Weiss responded as they passed said statue, "Probably because it wouldn't be noticed because we don't like to talk about him."

"Hm," The faunas responded, "Guy's a hero in Vale."

"He's a villain here," The heiress whispered back, "Humiliated Scipio at the battle of Mt. Glenn."

"That he did," Alex said, "That was a long battle."

"How about we focus on escaping, then we can discuss history." Weiss said, earning a grunt from the faunas.

"Yeah…probably a good idea." The fox said as he and Weiss continued off into the night.

 **In Menagerie…**

Sun woke the sound of a gentle guitar being played, his groggy eyes finding Azul in the corner with his guitar, the brown and black wood shining in the sunlight. He looked around to see Blake sitting nearby, her head hung low.

"Blake?" Sun asked, his voice full of pain.

"This is why Sun," The cat faunas asked, her voice low and cracking, "This is why I left them behind."

"What are you…wait…where am I?" The monkey asked, his head turning in every direction. Blake got to her feet and walked over, her fist bawling up.

"I'm done seeing my friends hurt because of me." She said, her voice filling with anger.

"Blake…" Sun started before being cut off by Blake.

"Shut up!" Blake yelled, "Do you think I like being alone? Everyday…every day I think about them, Ruby, Weiss…Yang, I loved them like I never thought I could never love anybody…and I hope they hate me for leaving."

The pair's conversation was cut off by the sound of a guitar string snapping, both eyes snapping to Azul. His eyes slowly came up, before shrugging and going back to playing despite the snapped cord.

"Everyone thinks they can help me…but they can't!" Blake yelled, "You saw Ilya last night and she's not even the worst! They are all better off without me. I'll make my choices and I'll deal with the consequences."

"You think you're being selfless but you're not," Sun said in a low tone, "Yeah…your chameleon friend got me good, but I'd do it all again to protect you. I'm sure Yang would say the same thing. You can make your own choices, sure, friends are there for you? It's because we want to, so stop pushing us away. That hurts more than anything else."

"Si…he's right," Azul said as he put his guitar down, "Amigo's stick together, I know what it's like to lose someone…so we aren't going anywhere…though, if it makes you feel any better? Next time…I'll be sure to pull a Rick and charge in screaming 'I'll skip ropes with your intestines!"

Blake laughed at that joke, right before jumping as the door nearby fell. The group turned to see Kali and Ghiri standing there, Kali on the ground embarrassed.

"Oh look…he's awake!" The cat faunas yelled as she got up, Ghiri doing a face palm.

"Kali…please…" Ghiri groaned.

"Mom!" Blake yelled.

"Hey Ms. B…" Sun said as he grabbed the back of his neck, Blake got to her feet and started walking towards the pair.

"What are you doing?" The teen yelled as Kali got up.

"Well…your father and a friend of his needed to speak with you." The woman said as Jesse stepped out from behind the huge man with Theodora coming from the side.

"Howdy," Jesse said as he tipped his hat, "Think it's time we talked for a bit."

Ghiri threw down a scroll on the table.

"I'm afraid you're right." The older man said.

"What do you mean?" Blake asked, her and Sun sitting on the couch.

"He means that the patron saint Adam is planning on overthrowing Kong as leader of the White Fang and is gonna attack Haven academy." Jesse replied as he sat down, grabbing a cup and drinking the tea.

"He's gonna attempt to repeat Beacon all over again." Theodora finished, her teeth grinding. Both Blake and Sun's head fell down.

"Not if we wipe them out the bastardo's first." Azul said as he put his guitar back in his case.

"No…we're not going to destroy the White Fang…we're going to take it back." Blake said, her fist clenching in determination.

"Wait, you want to take back an organization that's tried to kill you, killed hundreds of civilians, and mutilated your friend?" Jesse said with a sly grin.

"Yes…the White Fang has lost its true purpose," Blake responded, "We are going to take it back properly."

"Blake…that's loco," Azul said before turning around, "More importantly…it sounds like something Rick would say…I'm in."

"Blake…if you want to do this…then there's someone I want to talk to first." Ghiri responded, his hands going bone white on a nearby chair.

 **A few hours later…**

"Are you out of your goddamned mind?!" Willy yelled, his hand slamming onto the bar, "Last time I talked to you about them, you called me crazy!"

"Willy…I know I didn't listen, but I am now." Ghiri replied, holding his hands up to try and soothe the bartender.

"Oh sure," The red headed man responded, "And I'm a park ranger, stop telling me to trust you and tell me, what do you really want from me?"

"We…" Ghiri said before looking around and lowering his voice, "We want to take back the White Fang."

Willy looked at the big faunas, before bursting out laughing.

"I see you've got a sense of humor still!" Willy laughed out, "You going to try that? You're an old man, you can't keep up with the younger idiots."

"Willy…" Ghiri replied in a warning tone before feeling a hand on his shoulder, he turned to see his wife, "Kali…what are you?"

"Willy…we all know why you hated the White Fang," She said in a calm tone, "We merely thought that in those years it was just a small fraction and that you were unwilling to let old wounds heal."

"I still haven't healed from that day," Willy growled as he gestured to his neck, "I've got the scars to prove it."

"But we now know that people like those who hurt you are in charge of the group," Kali said as she gently grabbed Willy's hand, "Please…we need your skills, you know more about fighting than even my daughter."

"Blake?" Willy replied, pulling his hand away, "What do you mean? I thought she was in Vale?"

"She's right here," Blake's voice made the bartender jump, "Dad, why are you talking to this man?"

"Blake," Ghiri said after he cleared his throat, "This is Willy, he was a…well…"

"A soldier," Willy finished, "For Atlas till about 3 years ago."

"He claimed to have fought the White Fang when he returned," The older faunas said, "Needless to say, we didn't believe him."

"Why?" The teen asked, her voice filled with confusion.

"Willy's always been…unstable when it came to talking about the White Fang." Ghiri replied, looking at Willy and trying to gauge his reaction.

"Unstable?" Blake asked as she looked at Willy.

"Some White Fang pricks tried to kill me a while back," The bartender responded, "Because my mother wasn't a Faunas."

"Oh…" Blake responded as she looked down in shame before regaining her confident stare, "Then help us, we are going to make sure the White Fang won't hurt anyone else."

"Hm," Willy grunted as he looked Blake over, "I'll think about it."

"That's all I ask." The teen responded as she turned to leave.

"She doesn't remember, does she?" Willy asked as she exited.

"No…no she doesn't," Ghiri responded, "You do owe her one."

"As I said, I'll think on it." The bartender said as he turned to the rest of his customers.

 **In Mistral…**

"Why the hell does this shit keep happening to us?!" Rick screamed as he was thrown back near the rest of the group alongside Ren and Nora.

"Rick, you OK?" Micca asked as the teen got to his feet.

"Oh sure, I'm fine!" Rick yelled as he got to his feet, "Just got punched by an unholy abomination."

"If you can joke, you can fight." The snake responded as she readied her weapon.

"Fair point." The psychopath yelled as he pulled out his chainsaw. The group all watched as the Grimm walked out of the dust, their eyes squinting as they all tried to think of a strategy. Micca noticed that Ren's teeth were gritting in anger, the shock of the usually calm teen enough to make her pause. The Grimm growled, earning her attention back, right before it roared.

"So…we got a…" Rick started, only for Jaune to charge off at Qrows still unmoving body, "Son of a…"

Jaune barely dodged a blow from the Grimm and grabbed Qrow, only to realize that the Grimm was charging right for them. Ren growled as he put his hand to the ground, the Grimm stopping mere feet away from the pair.

"Just get him to safety!" Ren yelled, Jaune nodding as he looked at the green clad teen. Rick pulled out his shotgun and, in tangent with Nora, fired a shot at the beast. The creature roared as it turned to charge at the pair, Rick roaring as he revved up his chainsaw. The psychopath charging in with Micca following, they dodged a blow from the beast and Rick attempted to slash at it with his weapon. The beast roared at lashed out with its feet, kicking him back.

Micca slid under the creature's arm, Ruby jumping over her to try and get a slash in. The creature merely growled as it kept swinging, Micca slashed at its horse like body, only for her weapon to have very little effect. The creature roared again as it swung its arm around and sent her and Ruby flinging into a nearby building, Ruby colliding with Nora in the process.

The Grimm roared as it felt it's back being peppered with bullets from Ren's guns, the beast swinging its arms around and grabbing the teen's arms. The green clad teen's eyes matched the creatures for a brief moment before Jaune voice managed to break him out of his stupor.

"Guys! Keep moving! Go in a circle!" He yelled out.

"Best idea I've heard so far!" Rick replied as he charged in, his chainsaw revving. Ren looked at the creature, only for Nora's grenades to distract it. He slipped out of the creature's arms and kept running around it, dodging its attacks, only for it to turn to face Rick with his chainsaw. He raised it, only for one of the arms to come around and blindside him, sending him into a nearby building. The Grimm stepped forward to try and finish him, but Nora, Ruby, Ren, and Micca started to run around it with their weapons lighting it up.

Rick stepped out of the rubble growling, his weapon still roaring, thirsting for blood and he charged once more…only to have Jaune be slammed into him and sent across the street. Ruby jumped next to him, Jaune got to his feet with a growl…only to sheath his blade.

"Jaune…I don't want to be judging you…but why?" Rick groaned, only for the blondes sheath to enlarge to form a great sword, "Huh…Beowulf?"

Jaune ignored him as he charged in, Rick shrugging his shoulders as he threw his chainsaw on his back and pulled out his ax, following the blonde knight. They went on different sides and slashed, the creature roaring as their blades dug into it. The creature jumped away, looking at the pair who had hurt it so. The Grimm took a deep breath…before screaming as it started to send its arms flying, sending all of the group to the ground. The Grimm stopped for a brief moment…right before the spikes on its back and its horns started to grow, the transformation finishing with an ear splitting roar.

"Where's a goddamned exorcist when you need one?!" The psychopath yelled as he covered his ears. Ren, ignoring the comment, jumped on a nearby tree and started firing, "Ren, that's a bad idea!"

The Grimm, roaring once again, then proceeded to slam Ren into a building, pinning him.

"Ruby!" Nora yelled, the teen nodding as she readied herself. Nora jumped onto Crescent Rose, before Ruby threw her right at Ren, blocking a blow meant for him. Ren stopped himself, slowly looking up to see Nora hanging by her hammer. Nora looked down at him.

"Stop looking!" The teen yelled as she covered her skirt, Ren stuttering as he did. The beast growled…right before ripping its arm out and slamming Nora into the ground, and again, and again, before throwing her across the battlefield.

"Nora!" Micca yelled, Rick's roar could be heard as he pulled out his shotgun and lined up a shot…right before the hammer fell on an empty chamber.

"Crap!" Rick yelled as Jaune slashed at the creature's leg, allowing Ren time to escape. The teen roared as he charged it, before being sent flying back, only to charge in.

"Ren! That's my shtick!" Rick yelled out as he reloaded his shotgun, aiming it, only for Ren's second charge to get in his way as the teen got caught in the monsters grasp. The psychopath let out a strained breath as he couldn't line up a shot, only for Ren to be thrown away, "OK…"

Rick ran in, dodging a strike as he got closer, the psychopath yelling as he fired both barrels, hitting the beast. The creature roared in pain as Rick reloaded rounds that looked different than the rest, the usual red being replaced by a bright orange. He fired, the shells hitting and sending the beast back a few steps, the Grimm roared as he reloaded and fired again, and again…and again.

The psychopath reached into his pocket to pull out more…only for his hands to come up empty. His eyes snapped up to see the creatures hand grab him and slam him into the ground, before slamming him through another nearby building, before finally slamming him into the ground.

"My spine, my rips, my lungs!" Rick yelled as he felt the blows, before the final one left him on said ground. He rolled over, coughing, blood spattering the pavement, the psycho's eyes coming up to see the Grimm's unflinching stare. The teens eyes challenged the creature to attack, and the beast obliged accordingly, Rick raising his gun to block and closing his eyes. He heard the blow…and something wet hit his face, the psycho opened his eyes to see Micca standing there…blood seeping out of her.

"Micca!" Rick screamed as the creatures arm flew back, the psychopath catching the snake.

"Rick…what the hell?" Micca gasped out, "What's wrong with you?"

"I was hoping that someone would come up with a plan," Rick said as he looked up to see Jaune and Ruby fighting, "Come on…let's get you somewhere safe."

"Rick…I'll be fine," Micca said, grabbing him and pulling him close, "Protect Ruby and Jaune…"

The teen looked at her, before nodding and running off. Micca grinned as she righted herself, honestly…the wound wasn't that bad, but she couldn't lift her arm after that…she just hoped Rick didn't realize that she had broken one of her promises to herself. Rick jumped next to Ruby and Jaune, only to notice that Nora and Ren were there as well…Rick noticed the dagger in Ren's hands.

"Ren…me and Jaune can deal with its arms." Ruby said after looking at the green clad teen.

"Rick and I can take out the horse." Nora said in response, Rick nodding as he pulled out his chainsaw and revved it up.

"And I'll take care of the rest." Ren replied, everyone nodded as they all broke away. Rick stayed on ground level, his chainsaw revved and ready for action. Rick watched as Ruby jumped and stabbed one of the arms with her scythe with a smile. He watched as the creatures arm rocketed towards Jaune, only for Ren to block it with the blonde knight's shield. The psychopath's eyes watched as Nora fell from the sky, a grin coming to his face.

The hammer hit…and Rick ran in, sliding as his weapon slammed into the creatures back legs, whatever inside of them snapping as he did.

"Ren, if you're going to do something, do it now!" Rick yelled as he rolled to his feet, the psychopath watched as Ren approached the creature with that dagger in hand. The green clad teen calmly staring down the creature, before slicing off one arm, then the other, and its stomach.

"And for myself." Ren said, slicing the creatures head clean off. Rick whooped as the head fell to the ground, right before turning to see Micca's hand on his shoulder.

"I told you I was fine…just won't be swinging my ax anytime soon." The snake whispered, right before the sound of engines filled the air.

"There you are you bloody bastards!" Aedan's voice filled the air as the group turned to see a set of two air ships approaching, "Looks like I found some help!"

"Sir, are these the people you were traveling with?" One of the soldiers asked.

"Aye, one of them is in need of dire medical attention," Aedan said as the ships landed, "You guys get him on board! We don't want to be sticking around for more Grimm!"

Rick and Micca looked at each other, before laughing as they jumped onto the ship, their heads resting on a nearby wall.

"You sure you're OK?" Rick asked, getting a punch on the arm from the Snake faunas.

"Yeah…I'm sure." Micca replied as she leaned against Rick, who looked at his girlfriend with concern before lifting his head up to see Qrow being loaded onto the ship, followed by Ruby, Jaune, Aedan, Nora, and Ren. The ships lifting up as soon as they were all on, Aedan and Ruby stood near Qrow.

"What if we don't make it?" Ruby asked, her voice filling with panic.

"Don't worry lass…look behind me," Aedan said, the small girl looking over his shoulder to see a city. Aedan leaned down to Qrow, "Told ya you weren't gonna die before I had a chance to apologize."

Rick felt Micca's steady breathing on his shoulder, the teen looking at the snake before his eyes fell to Nora…who had just laid her head down on Ren's shoulder.

"Huh…this…is…happening." Rick muttered under his breath as they approached Mistral, finally ready to lay down his head to rest.

 **A few hours later…**

Micca entered the room quietly, hoping that no one was in it. She and Rick had been given this room but Rick was currently debating with a blacksmith about teeth for his chainsaw, Micca had left the two alone…she had something she had meant to do. She pulled out a small case from her pack, it bore her symbol as well. The faunas opened it to reveal a few sheets of paper, a set of pens, and three pictures.

She looked at the pictures with a sad sigh, one was older and in black and white. It was the only picture she had with her entire family minus her dad, who died shortly after Wun was born. They had all come together a year later to catch up…she remembered how jealous she was of Jade's body. Micca giggled at the thought before turning to the next picture, it was far more recent, taken right as the Vytal festival had begun.

It was team RWBY, JNPR, EMBR, and ROSA all gathered around a table where a chef was currently flipping a knife over a hibachi grill. Weiss was grabbing Ruby in a vice grip as the knife was in the air, Yang was whooping, Blake was leaning back passively staring at the fish while Jaune was leaning back in fear while…Pyrrha held his arm. Nora looked like she was about to start trying to flip knives as well and Ren was holding her back, while Emily, Ben, and Richard were all holding back laughter.

Owen and Shaun were also holding back laughter, Alex was currently downing a bit of Sake, and Micca was holding onto Rick's arm lovingly. Micca remembered the evening…before all this. The final picture made her hold back tears, it was a simple picture of Pyrrha, signed: To Wun, Carpe Diem. Wun had managed to sneak onto the fair grounds and get Pyrrha's autograph at some point…she had been carrying it as a good luck charm.

Micca quickly shook herself out of her stupor and pulled out a piece of paper and pen. She started writing.

 **Insert "Hero's Theme," Call of Duty Black Ops II…**

 _Dear Wun,_

 _Sorry I haven't written in a while, been crazy few days…granted I still don't know if you're getting these. I sure hope you've been staying out of trouble, though, knowing you and Uni, I doubt it. I just wanted to tell you some things, we made it to Mistral finally. Took a lot longer than I thought but we did it, me and the rest of the gang. I have so much to tell you…but I'm probably going to have to wait to tell you the stories later in person. I just wanted to jot down some important things for you._

 _We've been living in a crazy world right? Ever since Beacon things have been…different to say the least, I guess that we all are still mourning in our own ways…whether visible…_

Rick looking at his beard in a piece of armor.

 _Or invisibly_

Jaune stared at his shield.

 _But we also still bear the scars of what's happened, some of them visible._

Willy looked in the mirror of his bathroom, the various scars across his chest, arms, and neck clear as day.

 _Or also invisible_

Aedan coughed into his hand as he stared at the sign that read: "Flint Training Academy."

 _Sometimes…it's easy to lose hope, sometimes we think it's better to run._

Aedan turned to leave, his back to the sign.

 _But then we remember…we aren't just farmers, assassins, or shopkeepers…we're warriors, we fight to protect what we care about._

Willy looked at the mirror, before locking his jaw and turning around and walking to a closet. He ripped out a suit case and looked at the name engraved on it: Corporal Willy "Buccaneer," Alibihinne.

Aedan locked his jaw as well, turning around and opening the door to the school, which appeared to be more akin to a dojo than a training hall.

 _Some of us are willing to sacrifice what we love most to protect what we care about._

Woman looks over the mask of the Ronin, before turning to face a man with yellow eyes.

Alex and Weiss board an air ship.

 _But…we must keep fighting…never forget that._

The door to the Belladonna household opened, all heads turning towards the one who entered. Ghiri and Kali smiled while Blake, Sun, and Azul took a step back as the man entered, he was wearing a set of white armor with what appeared to be a gas mask. He pulled off his mask to reveal Willy, who walked over and sat down.

 _Just remember when you're fighting, that no matter who you are…someone will always care about you._

Jesse stared at his gun, only to have Theodora's hands wrap around his shoulders. He smiled as he turned around.

 _That's all I can say for now…I love you._

 _Love Micca._

Micca finished the letter, before folding it up and putting it into an envelope.

"Writing Wun again?" Rick asked, Micca smiled as she nodded her head, "Good…got to stay close."

"Do you want to write a letter to your sister?" The faunas asked.

"Don't know where she is," The psychopath said as he sat down on the bed, "Wouldn't want to waste the paper."

"Fair point," Micca said as she got up and walked over, "Hey…we need to talk."

"Oh god…did I do something wrong?" Rick asked, legitimate concern on his face.

"It's the beard," Micca said as she rubbed it, "It hides too much of your beautiful face."

Rick laughed as he fell back onto the bed, falling asleep…he was so tired.

 **End music…**

"So…interested?" Yang asked as she and Richard pulled up to the sign.

"…sure," Richard replied, "Might as well."

 **After credits scene…**

The picture of Micca in Mistral came through on the man's scroll, his face was obscured by the darkness. He got to his feet, the only thing visible was his saber, and walked out of the room. The White Fang all moved around him, each afraid to meet his gaze. As he moved, he could hear the screams as he approached his destination. A huge metal door stood in his way that he pulled open, the metal groaning as it did.

"What did I say about disturbing me?" A heavily distorted voice filled the air as he entered, the man's eyes fell upon a bound and gagged man on a table.

"I think you wanted to see this." The man with the saber responded as he pulled out his scroll and slid in on the table, a huge hand closed around it and lifted it up.

"Micca Sol? Finally…let's go." The voice answered.

"Not yet." The man with the saber replied.

"Why not!? She's right there! We could deal with her now!" The voice yelled.

"Patience my dear Wendigo," The voice replied, "For now…we are assisting Adam with his little coup…but, let me ask you this, who travels with Micca?"

"Rick Grimmes?" The voice belonging to Wendigo asked.

"And who is never far behind Rick?" The saber wielding man asked.

"…Richard Necro." Wendigo replied.

"So…we have another ally to bring into our fold." The voice replied, his voice smooth as silk.

 **And Volume 4 is done! Expect a few more chapters but then I'm going to start the next story, still working on the title but just be ready for that. Once again, thanks for reading, and I bid you adieu.**


	24. Infinite Dreams

The blade made sparks as the grindstone worked its magic on it, the sparks illuminating Rick's face as he kept the ax moving across the stone. The area was close to the inn that the gang was staying at, he had convinced the blacksmith to let him use it. The psychopath lifted the blade up to the light, running his hand over the edge. Blood slowly moved down his finger tip as it got caught on the edge, the teen looked at the blood running down his finger, moving down his arm.

A low growl exited his lips, before he quickly shook his head. The voices in his head were all silent, odd considering how vocal they usually are. The teen looked over at his knife that was on a table nearby, the Bowie style lighting up as the lightbulb flickered. He wiped the sweat out of his eyes as he moved over to pick up the knife, only for a hand to grab it before he could reach it.

Rick's eyes moved up the arm, only to rear back as he saw its face. The red eyes illuminating him as he fell back to the floor, the monster's black chest heaved as it walked forward. The creature knocked the table over, the lightbulb swaying as the creatures large shoulders brushed past it. The monster growled as it grabbed Rick's skull and lifted him up, its claws digging into his skin. The creature pulled up Rick to its face, its breath smelling like rotting meat.

It roared as it threw Rick away, the psychopath groaning in pain as he landed. The teen looked at the creature again, the light illuminating its chest as it walked forward, a word had been carved into its flesh. The teen turned around and started to crawl away, his progress being interrupted by the creature grabbing his leg. The teen looked ahead to see that his knife landed in front, reflecting the word on the creature's chest: god.

Rick woke up with a hand on his shoulder, the psychopath whirled around to see Ruby, who looked a bit shocked at the reaction. She relaxed quickly and smiled at the teen, removing her hand from his shoulder.

"Sorry to wake you up," The teen said as she rubbed the back of her head, "You were groaning in your sleep, bad dream?"

"Yeah," Rick groaned as he leaned back in his chair, he was sitting at a desk, "Just decided to close my eyes for a few minutes, next thing I know? Nightmares…"

"What was your nightmare about?" Ruby asked as she sat down on the desk as well.

"Don't remember," Rick lied as he looked around, "Where's the rest of the gang?"

"They went out shopping, Micca said to leave you here since you were sleeping." The girl said as she jumped off the desk.

"Why'd you stay?" Rick asked, his voice full of confusion.

"…I might have been raiding the pantry for cookies." Ruby said, her cheeks turning red with embarrassment.

"Should have known." Rick laughed as he got up, before noticing the scroll in the young girls hands. The girl looked down before jumping up and down.

"Oh yeah, I found something I think you'd be interested in," Ruby said in a hyper voice as she started opening her scroll, "Now that I've got a good connection, I decided to see if I could find some stuff online about some of our…problems, and I accidentally came across something else."

"I'm not the kind of guy to be asking about…" Rick started before Ruby turned the scroll around, revealing the Vytal festival symbol, "…OK…what am I looking at?"

"It's from a while ago," The redhead said with a smile, "Look at the name on the video."

Rick looked at said videos name and did a double take, it read "Aedan Flint VS Kuroi Ryu."

"How did you find this?" The psychopath asked, looking at Ruby incredibly.

"Apparently, the video was very popular in Mistral," Ruby explained, "Something about him being the pride of a special dojo, so they managed to get it uploaded before they lost the original recording."

"How old is he?" Rick muttered before looking at the screen, "What are you waiting for? Play it!"

 **Insert "The Duelist," Iron Maiden…**

Ruby giddily nodded as she pressed play, the screen displaying the symbol before it faded away to a far older arena than the one they fought in. An announcer, who was definitely not Port or Oobleck started commentating.

"Here it is folks, the fight you've all been waiting, the second of Tanya from team TAAR, the do facto samurai of Beacon, and one of the hardest drinkers of the college, Aedan Flint!" The voice yelled as Aedan walked into the ring, a short compilation of some of the past fights started playing, revealing the rest of team TAAR as they fought against various opponents. Aedan was clearly the speedster of the group, catching his opponents off guard and opening them up for the harder hitting members.

The second clip showed the second fight, where Aedan and Arnold were fighting against a pair, one of whom was a woman who used a dagger and a sword while the other was a man who used a large spear. The dagger turned out to be an ice dust holder and the sword a fire dust holder, the difference in temperatures shocking the opponents sense while the spear user was a power house, his weapons reach giving him an advantage.

Aedan and Arnold, however, apparently didn't give a crap as the next shot was them standing victorious. The announcer started again, his voice full of energy similar to that of an old time radio host.

"His opponent, however, is not slouch either," The announcer said, "The Black Dragon of Haven, the silent blade, a man you don't want to see in a dark alleyway at night, Kuroi Ryu!"

The man who walked onto the stage was a…interesting sight at least, he was wearing black with one of his arms laid bare, and his other was covered in armor that had various tubes sticking out of it. His face was covered with a mask that covered one of his eyes, a short blade was over his back and various implements in where on his chest.

His compilation showed that he was a saboteur, using various forms of Dust to disable his opponents before going in for the finishing blow, he was fast, very fast, and his armored hand was as good as blocking damage as it was dealing with. Aedan looked his opponent up and down, he looked impressed at the opponents outfit when compared to his own, which was just a simple set of jeans, a dark green shirt, and some boots. His bright red hair was more distracting when compared to the dark of his clothes, his two blades hung at his left hip. A smile came over his face as he cleared his throat.

"It's rare to see one skilled in some of these ancient ways," Aedan said as his hand gripped one of his blades, "This is going to be very fun."

"Here it is folks," The announcer started again, "A fight as old as time itself, samurai vs ninja, Aedan VS Ryu, this is going to be a show folks!"

Aedan opened up the fight by rushing in, his katana glancing off the ninja's metal arm as the smaller teen raised it. The ninja followed up by jumping and aiming a kick at Aedan's skull, only for the young man to dodge the blow. Aedan ducked under the foot before slashing at the ninja's legs, only for said ninja to jump over the blade and land on his feet.

Aedan whirled around, his blade at the ready, only to block the spinning blade that were thrown at him. Ryu was jumping into the, throwing more of the stars as he did, which Aedan slashed out of the sky. A crackling sound filled the air and Aedan growled as he looked over his blade that was now covered in ice, the ninja proceeded to rush in and capitalize on his opponents weakness.

The teen simply raised his weapon and allowed the ninja to hit it with his tanto, the blade shattering the ice. Aedan followed up by elbowing the ninja away, the teen stabbing his dagger into the ground to prevent flying out of the arena. His feet barely inches away from the side, the ninja looked up to see Aedan bearing down on him. The smaller teen seeped at Aedan's leg, only for the samurai to dodge and also land on the edge of the arena lines.

A moment passed as both weighed the pros and cons of continuing the fight here, before continuing as Ryu leaped up, kicking off of Aedan's blade. The ninja landed a distance away, reaching over his shoulder and pulling out some kunai. Aedan leaped back to the center of the arena, not wishing to risk fighting in such a dangerous position. He held his blade at the ready as he watched the ninja ready himself, only to balk in confusion as Ryu leaped into the air and threw his kunai into the ground all around him.

"Oh…shit…" Aedan muttered as the kunai exploded, releasing a thick, green smoke that quickly covered the area with him in it. Ryu drew his blade once again, the metal gleaming in the light, before charging into the smoke. The crowd could hear the sounds of Aedan coughing, yelping, and the sounds of blades clashing as the ninja kept coming in and out of the smoke. Aedan's aura was dropping on the screen, his levels getting close to the red.

Ryu landed outside again, his eyes seemingly lighting up with a fire as he charged in again, this time, his shoes leaving an imprint on the ground as he let go. A loud clang could be heard and the audience gasped…only for fire to erupt, pushing Ryu and the smoke away from the arena. The ninja landed on the edge again, this time his eyes full of shock.

Aedan stood in the middle, fire surrounding him as he sheathed the blade he was holding and drew his second, this one was substantially different from his other blade. It was still a katana, but one they looked less elegant and rougher. It was a little longer than his first blade and was clearly heavier as Aedan adjusted his stance, the katana was a lot closer to the ground than his other blade was. Ryu stood to his full height, before he rolled his shoulders.

"Clever trick, using sparks to set the gas off," The ninja suddenly spoke, his voice of a more middle temper, "But you can't honestly think you can beat me in your current state."

The ninja did have a point, Aedan wasn't looking the greatest, his shirt had been burned off by the flames and he had a few scratches and bruises. The samurai laughed however as he readied himself, his blade coming even closer to the ground.

"You haven't beaten me yet," He spat, "I'm not down just yet."

The ninja nodded as he readied his blade, before Aedan rushed in, Ryu quickly raised his armored hand to block the metal…only for his armor to shatter as Aedan's new blade came into contact with it. Ryu's eyes widened, only to be caught by surprise again as Aedan slashed at his torso. That blade was much heavier than Aedan let on, not only that, but when combined with the hunter in trainings speed…it was more akin to a cannon than a sword.

The ninja shot back, landing in the center of the arena as he did.

"What is that blade?" The ninja gasped out.

"A friend made it for," Aedan said as he pointed it at the ninja, "Wasn't too good at making a blade like this, but damn does it do work when it hits."

The ninja laughed suddenly, before readying himself, he had to careful now, with that blade, and Aedan didn't need to focus on getting in as many strikes as possible. The ninja charged in and Aedan slashed at him, only for his blade to pass right through his target. The samurai quickly whirled around to block a strike from the real Ryu, the samurai grunting as he did.

"After images?" Aedan muttered as he pushed the ninja away, "Huh…I was wondering what your semblance was."

"Impressed?" The ninja asked as he started circling the samurai.

"I am actually," Aedan said with a grin, "But since you've used yours…I guess I'll use mine."

"You won't get a chance too." Ryu growled as he started to run literal circles around Aedan, his after images starting to make it impossible to determine the ninja's location. The samurai looked around in a panic as all of them leapt into the air, bearing down on him. A few hits phased right through him, the blades not doing any damage as the after images did nothing.

Finally, a clang was heard as Aedan raised his blade to block an actual strike, only to gasp as he realized that it was one of Ryu's kunai. It exploded, covering him in ice, leaving Ryu standing a few feet away.

"Time to end this…Ice Lightning!" The ninja yelled as he threw a yellow crystal a statue…only for a red glow to fill the air as fire erupted from the statue. Aedan hand held a fire dust crystal, which he crushed. The samurai dodged the lightning crystal, before blasting at the ninja with his fire. Ryu skillfully dodged the blast, only for Aedan to surround him with a fire wall.

"Nice name…Think I'll call this one: Fire Steel!" Aedan's voice filled the air as he suddenly came careening out of the fire wall and slashing at Ryu, who blocked the attack but was still sent flying back into the fire wall. The flames engulfed him as Aedan looked at the screen, before holding his hand up and closing it, dissipating the fire.

The ninja stood there breathless…before falling to the ground, exhausted.

"I don't believe it folks…Aedan has just won the Vytal festival!" The announcer yelled, the crowd erupting into applause. Aedan looked at the cheering crowd, before holding up his fist in victory. The footage ended right there, leaving both Ruby and Rick speechless.

 **End music…**

"…And I thought he was fast now." Ruby said after a few seconds of silence.

"Yeah…fast…" Rick said as he looked off into the distance, before shaking his head, "Hey…I'm gonna catch some more shut eye. It's been a long few days."

As Rick got to his feet, Ruby suddenly got up as well.

"Rick…are you OK?" The redhead asked, earning a look from the psychopath.

"Yeah…why?" He responded with a suspicious stare.

"It's just that, ever since we got to Haven, you've been…distant? Weird? Something like that?" Ruby said as she started putting her two index fingers together.

"Hey…" Rick said as he patted Ruby on the head, "I'm fine…just a little road weary."

"OK…" Ruby replied, clearly not convinced. Rick laughed as he walked away, his mind still trying to calm itself down.

 **A few hours later…**

Rick was standing in the middle of the woods, rain falling all around him, he could feel it pattering his skin as he looked over the corpse of the man he had just killed. An ax was buried into his back, the man had stopped groaning. The teen took a step back, staring at his hands, watching as the blood faded as the water washed it off.

The psychopath looked around, seeing no one around, he grabbed the ax and started to run, pulling it out of his victim as he did. The sound of the blade leaving the meat of the manmade Rick sic to his stomach as he ran, the voices in his head started pounding.

"So…here we are," The voice whispered, "You just killed a man…why are you running?"

"Shut up…" Rick muttered as he kept running, his hands trembling.

"What? Feeling guilty for it?" The voice replied as the teen started moving in and out of the trees.

"Of course I am…I just ended a person's life." Rick muttered as he neared an opening in the trees.

"No you're not…" The voice muttered, "You don't feel an inch of guilt, as a matter of fact you feel great…you've never felt more alive."

"Shut up!" Rick yelled as he reached the clearing, all the sounds ceasing around him. The psychopath looked to the sky, the rain suddenly stopping as he did. The moon came out, shining upon him and illuminating his surroundings, Rick realized he wasn't in the woods anymore…but on a stone roof. He turned to see Micca in the center…with an arrow in her chest, her surprised eyes fell upon Rick in shock.

"No!" Rick yelled as he ran over, his hands wrapping around her, "No…no…no…don't go…don't go…"

His eyes snapped to a figure with a bow in their hands, he yelled as he grabbed his ax and charged at the figure. His speed, however, was more comparable to running in molasses, his opponent seemed so far away. Soon, he fell to his knees in exhaustion, breathing heavily as he looked up at the figure, who came into focus to reveal herself.

Mary laughed as she loaded another arrow and fired it past him, Rick whirled around to see it bury itself into Micca's body again.

"You're too slow…" Mary said as she walked up to him, "You've always been too slow, taking too long to do anything."

"Go to hell!" Rick screamed as he tried to move, only to have his arms not respond. He could only stare as Mary grabbed him by the jaw, lifting him up.

"Too slow…if only you hadn't taken so long killing me…" Mary laughed as Rick woke up in a cold sweat, the teen rocketing up to a sitting position. He looked around, realizing he was alone in his room. The teen looked over at the clock at his bedside, groaning as he did. It wasn't even the evening yet, but Rick still got up, his shirtless body reflecting in a nearby mirror. Rick stopped to look at himself, he could've laughed at what he saw.

His body was scarred up something fierce, he could trace the lines of the times a Grimm caught him unprepared, the scars from his vigilante days, even a few scars from his time in the woods, playing with his friends. His eyes stopped at one particular scar, though, one that was barely visible near his heart. It could barely be seen and Rick always forgot about it, he traced it gently, trying to remember how he got it.

He quickly shook it off as he pulled on a shirt and started walking outside of his room, only to be stopped a familiar man.

"So…where's Ruby?" Qrow asked as he took a drink from his hip flask.

"Did she leave? I was talking to her a bit ago." Rick replied as he looked the man up and down, he seemed to be doing quite well for himself since he recovered.

"Seems she did," Qrow groaned, "Damn…that girl's hard to track down sometimes."

"I hear ya," Rick said with a laugh, "I remember the time that Yang and I lost her in the market, I thought Yang was gonna tear the place apart."

"And from what they told me, you came pretty close to strangling a guy who had commented on her rack." Qrow said as he looked Rick up and down, the kid was definitely having a bad day.

"Eh…I'm still surprised Weiss didn't impale him." Rick countered before he started walking away, Qrow sighed as the kid passed him.

"Hey kid…" Qrow said without looking back, "Aedan tells me that your father was Draven Grimmes, right?"

"Yeah…did you know him?" Rick said as he turned around.

"Matter of fact I do," Qrow sighed, "Sorry to hear about his passing…he was a good man."

"…Thanks." Rick replied as he started walking out.

"Yep…definitely your kid Irre." Qrow muttered as he continued walking.

 **A few hours later…**

Rick stood in the center amongst his friends, each had their back turned to him.

"You're a monster." Weiss said in an angry voice.

"You're a traitor." Jaune whispered.

"You're a murderer." Blake yelled.

"You're a madman." Nora said calmly.

"You're a beast." Yang growled.

"You're worse than the Grimm." Ren growled.

Rick looked around to see that two were missing from the groups, Ruby and Micca. That's when he felt something on his shoe, his eyes fell to the floor to see the blood that was running from three corpses. He took a step back as he saw Ruby, Micca, and Pyrrha staring at him, their eye's dead…and wounds that could only be made by an ax.

Rick woke up with a start, his heart pounding as he took in his surroundings. He was at a table outside, the sun was starting to finally set as he yawned. The psychopath got to his feet and started pacing back and forth, his mind racing as he thought about what was going on.

Why was he having these nightmares? They had just started when they had gotten to Haven, they were safe…so why was he now having these thoughts in his skull. The psychopath was worried about himself, especially since the voices in his head were strangely quiet. He would have expected that the Butcher would have been screaming at him about this kind of stuff but…it was silent, completely silent. Rick just wanted to scream at something or to punch it as hard as he could, but they were safe…he didn't need to do that.

Rick groaned as he sat down again, his emotions all going in different directions. He felt like something was so off about himself, ever since Pyrrha…Pyrrha…he stopped himself…he hadn't really thought about her, or about Owen and Shaun in a long time, at least, not really sat down and thought about them. The teen looked off at the sky…he had been so focused on getting Ruby to Haven that he didn't have time to think about them.

Maybe that was it…hell, that would explain why he dreamed about Pablo in the woods…the first time he…Rick shook the thought out of his head as he kept thinking. The teen lowered his head a little bit, his thoughts starting to form a cohesive idea. That's when he nodded off again, his eyes drooping off into the void.

The little girl ran across the field of flowers, their yellow petals glowing in the sunlight as her white dress billowed out. Her blue eyes surveyed the landscape, her mango colored hair billowed in the wind, her cat ears twitched as said wind brushed them, and in her hand was a small doll, made to look like the shape of a soldier. She looked across the field, her eyes stopping at a figure in the distance. It was a man, holding an ax, blood dripping off of it onto the ground, staining the flowers. The little girl stared at the man, her hand clasping her doll even tighter, before he started walking forward.

The little girl took a step back as he got closer, his form becoming clearer. He was wearing black furs across his body and face, his ax, still dripping was chipped and would probably be dull. However, such a weapon didn't need a sharp edge to cut into a victim, but the man stopped only a few steps away from the girl as she looked at him fearfully.

The man's cold eyes went over her, before they went behind her…and the man ran past her, his ax cleaving a wolf in twain. The girl turned around to see a trio of wolves, not including the one the man had just killed, setting upon the man. His ax caught one more before one buried its teeth into his leg, one jumped at his throat. His hand leaped up and caught it, before throwing it aside and grabbing the one on his leg. The creature yelped as he pried apart its jaws and ripped them open, the creature bleeding to death as it fell.

The man stood over the last wolf, now with its head held low in fear as the man raised his weapon…only to falter, the ax shook in his hand as he looked at the creature with pity. He lowered his weapon, and turned around…hearing the wolf run off. The little girl stared at him, the blood of the wolves covering him, before running over and taking his hand.

The man eye's widened, but he allowed the girl to take him away, off towards a tree line. The man looked up to see storm clouds gathering, he scooped the girl up and started running. Eventually, his eyes fell upon a hut, the rain started pattering around him as he ran in. The man lowered her to the ground, but the girl started moving around in a panic. The man looked over her and stopped as he realized her hands were empty…she had dropped her doll.

The man in black held up his hands to calm her down before reaching up and breaking off a few sticks of the hut and putting them down, he quickly lit them and got to his feet. He pointed at the girl and pointed at the ground, she got the message: Stay put. The man nodded and, after pulling his furs closer to his head, started walking through the rain. The man could barely see, his ax hug in his hands, ready for use, the rain drowning out his footsteps.

The man suddenly stopped in his tracks, his hands clenching on his ax. He slowly turned around to see that he was being followed by a pale creature, it appeared to be a man, a very weak one at that. He was thin, his bones were visible to the man in black. The black man noticed that he was holding something protectively, as he took a step closer he realized that it was the girl's doll. The pale man took a step back as the man in black eyes narrowed and he started raising his ax, but the man in black stopped himself, instead gesturing for the pale man to follow.

The pale man looked at the man defensively, but nodded and started following, walking on all fours like a bigger. Soon, they arrived at the shack, the little girl jumping up as the two entered, she looked at the pale man in fear before he held out her doll. The girl took a few steps forward…looking at the doll…before taking it out of the pale man's hands and kissing him on the cheek. The pale man's face blushed at that before the man in black moved deeper into the shack, he started to remove his wet clothing. The man in black's body was riddled with scars, some more akin to that of a dead body, but he left his face covered as well.

The scarred man set his cloths near the fire, the heat drying them out as he laid his back against the wall, his eyes drooping as he did. He barely felt the little girl when she moved closer, placing her head against his stomach and falling asleep. The pale man looked over the two before his eyes moved to the fire, the sticks starting to turn to embers.

The scarred man awoke with a start as daylight fell upon him, making the little girl jump awake as well. She looked at the man with a pout but the man just got to his feet, he looked around for the pale man before noticing that the fire was still going. He leaned closer, the wood was older but still fresh. He looked at the entrance and noticed that there was a dead hare in the front of the shack, he walked over and picked it up before looking around.

The man didn't see the pale man but he still set to making the hare edible, frying it over the fire. As the pair ate, the scarred man suddenly bit down on something hard. He reached into his mouth and, expecting an errant bone, pulled it out. His eyes widened as he realized it was a wolf's fang, the man got to his feet quickly, grabbing his ax and stepping outside. The man looked around before spotting what appeared to be a pale limb nearby, and with the speed of a puma, ran over and jumped over a rock to see…the pale man.

He wasn't moving, a bundle of sticks on his back and one of his hands outstretched towards the hut. The scarred man placed his hand on the poor sod before realizing that he didn't die of injury…his skin was too cold, his lips too blue. The man had died of exposure…of trying to get these sticks back to the shack, the scarred man also noticed that there was something underneath him as well. The pale body was pushed back to reveal…a small wolf, dead from the same thing. The pale man, apparently realizing that he couldn't reach the shack, had decided to try and save the wolf.

The scarred man lowered his head and looked back to the shack, before getting to his feet and entering the shack. The girl was still eating as he entered, giving him a look as he rifled through the back of the shack. He quickly grabbed a shovel and exited the building once again, the girl shrugged and kept eating, despite the sounds of dirt being moved. A short while later, the man came back and grabbed his clothes, pulling them on.

The man took the little girls hand and led her out of the building, she didn't even notice the two freshly dug graves as they passed them. They kept going along the path, through a forested area, stopping at a clearing, ahead of them was a building akin to that of a chapel surrounded by a fence. The man pushed the gates open and stepped forward, looking over the chapel and the statue that lay in front of it. It was a female angel, her spear pointed at the door.

The man walked up to the door, pushing on it to reveal that it was locked. The man raised his ax only to falter as he noticed the writing on the door which read: Only the good may enter. The man lowered his ax as he read this, his head lowering along with it. The little girl looked at him oddly, but after pushing on the door, shrugged it off and started playing on the stones nearby.

The man walked towards the statue, the angels kind eyes seemingly staring him over. He sat down at her feet before looking at the chapel with regretful eyes, he wanted to desperately to be able to enter this place. The man lowered his head and his eyes closed, the little girl suddenly stopped playing as a third person entered the courtyard, a woman clad in gold. The little girl pointed at the statue and opened her mouth to speak, only for the woman to put a finger to her lips. The little girl nodded as the woman pointed towards the door, a click being heard and the door slowly opening. The woman looked down upon the man before she turned and walked away.

The man raised his head, only to jump to his feet as he saw that the door was open to him. The little girl ran in as soon as he was up and the man followed her in, as he entered, the door closed behind him. The room was still illuminated by a large window up ahead, he took a few steps forward, his body entering the light with his hand raised to protect his eyes. Suddenly, the light flared up, blinding him and as the light cleared…he noticed that he was no longer in the room he once was but was surrounded by mirrors.

The man whirled around in a panic, looking for the girl…but she was nowhere to be seen. His eyes fell upon one of the mirrors and he reared in horror for he saw himself standing in the middle of a room, surrounded by corpses. The figure in the mirror started back at him with glee in his eyes, his hands still dripping with the blood of the victims. The man turned around to see himself surrounded by creatures with red eyes and black fur, the creatures all seemed to surround him, their claws stained red with blood.

He whirled around to see another mirror, this one bore his image in the middle of a cell, surrounded by creatures that seemed to shift like they were in the mind of a madman. Finally…the final mirror showed him surrounded by soldiers, all rearing back from him, in his hand he bore the head of…that same angel that was in front of the chapel. The man fell to his knees at that sight, before looking ahead at a door that he had just noticed…almost as if it had appeared out of thin air.

The man swallowed and got to his feet and shakily opened the door, his breathing now becoming audible, as if someone had just allowed the sound to fully bloom. He didn't notice the sound of breathing behind him, akin to that of a little girl. She entered the room, seeing his back as he left, but she also noticed the mirrors. All of them bore a single image…of him standing among heroes, none of them bearing him ill will. The angel stood with a knight, holding him shoulders in a sign of support.

She turned to follow, only to be grabbed by an unseen hand and pulled into darkness. The man in black stepped forward, before hearing an ear splitting scream down the long hallway. He started running, rounding a corner to see that the little girl was being held down by a beast. The man started running, but the hallway seemed to only get longer, the man was still too slow. He almost stopped, his speed falling…before he grabbed his ax and started running again.

He might be too slow…but he would be damned if he didn't try, the hallway finally seemed to stop as he reached the beast, shoving it back. The beast roared as it jumped back, allowing the man to get a good look at it. The beast slowly stood to its full height, a full head taller than the man. The man lowered himself and picked up the little girl, the girl shaking in his arms.

"You're fast enough to save her…" The monster said in a gravely tone, the man got to his feet, holding the girl. The monster grinned as the man looked it over…it was a humanoid creature, grey skin, with a word carved into its chest: Dog. The monster reached forward, attempting to grab the man, but the man jumped out of the way, the claws hooking his hood. The fur tearing away to reveal his face, the girl gasped in horror.

The man had the same face as the monster, a face covered with scars and with yellow eyes that bore into her soul. The man looked at her and set her down quickly, he looked at her scared face and smiled, before kissing her on the forehead. He stepped forward, his ax ready to fight…but the monster had stopped moving. The man stopped as well, looking at the monster in confusion as it faded away, turning to dust right in front of him.

The man turned around…only to find that there was a chest wound upon his breast…the man gasped as he fell to the floor, the blood pouring out of him. The little girl screamed as she ran over, her hands pressing into the wound, trying to stop the bleeding. The man eyes went to the ceiling, the girl's words becoming mute to him. His head fell to the side to see Black Hand coming from the ground, grabbing at him. Soon, he could see the laughing faces of himself, laughing as the started walking towards him.

The man whispered something…something that made the girl look at him in sorrow…those words…

"I…Deserve…This…" He whispered as he felt the hands wrap around him…only to feel them loosen up, he looked to the side to see a white blade embedded into the hands…and he looked to the other side to see a red and silver blade slice through the hands…the other forms of himself growled as they were hit by a golden light. The man looked up to see three people…no four…a fourth person holding the hand opposite of the child, so five people in the end.

The faces off all of them became obscured when the angel came down, whispering into his ear.

"It's not your fault…it's not…" She whispered, before she faded away. Rick woke up at that comment, the sheets of his bed giving him an idea of where he was. The teen looked over to see Micca sleeping soundly next to him, the teen leaned his head back into its pillow. He had no idea what he had just witnessed, was he finally losing it?

However, he couldn't deny that he felt…calm, calmer than he had been. He thought of his friends, his family, and his grief. He had to move on…he knew that, he thought that he could be the same goofball he had been when he had entered Beacon. Rick had just realized that he was a fool to believe that, he had to do what was needed in this world.

Rick knew at that moment…he had to grow up.


	25. Update

**So, just a quick heads up, I've decide to cut this story off here. I've decided every two seasons to start another story as to not clutter them too much. Anyway, head on over to Faces of Heroes**


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